As Feng Lingshuang lied to Lu Li, claiming her brother was already dead, the air in the stone pavilion froze instantly.
Only the faint sounds of music and feasting drifted from the distance, serving only to highlight the heavy silence of their surroundings.
Lu Li was filled with guilt, unsure of how to mend the wound he had unintentionally reopened.
He could only focus more intently on using his Spirit Energy to soothe the bruising on her ankle, as if that could convey some small measure of comfort.
Feng Lingshuang kept her head bowed.
The white veil of her hat shielded her from the outside world and hid the complex, shifting emotions on her face.
Disappointment wound around her heart like a fine spiderweb — not because of Lu Li’s question, but because the lie she had spun about her “deceased brother” acted like a wall.
It completely severed the possibility of a real connection between her and the man before her.
The courage she had gathered to probe further seemed to drain away.
However, the obsession rooted deep within her soul — the instinctive drive to find her “Master” — would not be so easily extinguished.
After a moment of silence, she took a deep breath, suppressed her turbulent thoughts, and decided to take a more indirect approach that would be less likely to arouse suspicion.
While she could not directly ask “Are you my Master?”, she could ask about things related to him.
For instance, his two disciples who had shone so brightly during the Dharma Assembly.
Thinking of this, Feng Lingshuang slowly raised her head.
Even through the veil, Lu Li could feel her gaze falling upon him once more.
Her voice had regained its previous calm, even carrying a hint of the curiosity and humility expected when cultivators discussed Daoist methods.
“Adept Lu, I… lost my composure just now. Please do not take offense.”
She apologized softly, smoothing over the previous moment of sorrow.
Then, she naturally shifted the topic with an appropriate amount of admiration.
“Speaking of which, the performance of your sect’s two disciples at the Dharma Assembly today was truly impressive and elegant. In particular, the techniques they displayed were exquisite, and their method of circulating Spirit Energy was quite unique. It made me… captivated. I could not help but feel curious.”
She paused as if weighing her words to ensure no misunderstanding would occur before continuing.
“I wonder… would it be convenient for Adept Lu to tell me what kind of profound techniques your disciples are practicing?”
As soon as Feng Lingshuang spoke, Lu Li was momentarily stunned.
Her question was actually quite forward.
A cultivation method was the foundation of a cultivator and the secret legacy of a sect; how could it be something one inquired about so casually?
Any ordinary cultivator would have become wary immediately upon hearing such a thing.
Who would ask about a disciple’s cultivation method during a first meeting, especially right after a sentimental moment about their past?
The transition was somewhat abrupt and illogical.
Feng Lingshuang immediately caught his fleeting look of surprise.
Realizing she had been too hasty, she moved to fix the mistake.
Her voice took on a hint of urgency and sincerity, as if she were terrified of being misunderstood.
“Please do not misunderstand, Adept Lu! I have absolutely no intention of coveting your sect’s legacy! It is just… while watching from below the stage today, I saw your disciples take action. That sword intent, that movement technique… they were different from any of the styles I usually see. I was merely curious, driven purely by a desire to explore and admire profound Daoist methods. I meant nothing else!”
She even leaned forward slightly to emphasize her point.
Seeing her earnest words and reasonable explanation, Lu Li’s scrutiny began to fade.
After all, it was common for cultivators to be curious when seeing new and powerful techniques.
He felt that revealing the names of the techniques did not count as leaking core secrets.
After all, the reputation of Duanqing Peak and its core mantra were not exactly state secrets in the cultivation world.
His expression softened, and he lowered his head again.
While continuing to warm her ankle with Spirit Energy, he answered in a flat tone.
“You overthink it, Daoyou. There is no harm in sharing the names of the techniques.”
He paused and said clearly.
“My First Disciple, Gu Qingkong, primarily practices the Duanqing Sword Style, which is derived from the Detachment Mantra passed down through my Duanqing Peak lineage. As for my Second Disciple, Shang Baiyu, he joined the sect with his own prior training, but after entering my tutelage, he mainly practices Duanqing Alchemy, which is also based on our Detachment Mantra.”
‘Wait? Duanqing Sword Style? Duanqing Alchemy? Detachment Mantra?’
These three names were like ice water, instantly dousing the last embers of hope in Feng Lingshuang’s heart.
‘What? How can this be? Shouldn’t Master be teaching the Extreme Emotion Sword Dao?’
In her dreams, the blurry Master had given her everything he knew, and it was clearly a cultivation method called the Extreme Emotion Sword Dao!
It was a technique that required the practitioner to melt their emotions, their will, and even all of their obsessions into the sword.
It used extreme emotion to drive extreme sword intent, following the principle of “wherever deep emotion goes, the cold blade follows.”
It was the polar opposite of the themes of abandonment, severing, and indifference found in the word “Detachment.”
A massive wave of disappointment surged through her, drowning her instantly.
Beneath the veil, her face turned pale, and her lips trembled slightly, yet she could not make a sound.
‘So… is it really not him? Is it just a slight similarity in appearance and temperament? The legacy he carries and the things he teaches are fundamentally different paths from what I seek in my dreams?’
‘As I thought… a dream is just a dream. It cannot be taken as truth.’
An indescribable sense of emptiness and bitterness gripped her heart, making it almost impossible to breathe.
Her previous expectations, her probing, and even her carefully woven lie all seemed so ridiculous and futile at this moment.
However, Feng Lingshuang had no way of knowing that the profound Extreme Emotion Sword Dao in her dreams was not a widely circulated technique at all.
It was something the Lu Li of her former life had created specifically for her, tailored to her unique Natural Sword Bone and her obsessive, fiery nature after spending countless hours of effort!
In all the world, there was only one copy, and he had only ever passed it to her.
The current Lu Li, having transmigrated, had neither encountered a disciple with a Natural Sword Bone nor received a quest from the System to do so.
Naturally, he had no reason to create the Extreme Emotion Sword Dao or pass it on to his disciples.
Just as Feng Lingshuang felt her heart grow cold and was about to give up her search entirely to accept this “cruel” reality, an exceptionally cold System notification suddenly rang in her ear.
Just as Gu Qingying felt despair, a mechanical sound like the clicking of gears echoed in her mind.
Immediately after, a transparent blue panel that only she could see popped up in front of her.
[Do you want to change Fate? Do you want to save your beloved and rewrite the tragedy?]
[Yes / No]
Facing this transparent panel of unknown origin, Feng Lingshuang instinctively reached out and tapped “Yes.”