In another room, Ji Xuanyuan sat in a chair, her phoenix eyes vacant. Though the auction outside was still going on, she couldn’t hear a thing. Replaying the recent events, her jade-like hand unconsciously wanted to rub her junior brother’s Warm Sun Jade to steady her heart.
Even though that Warm Sun Jade had shattered in the final battle of the previous life, protecting her, she had still picked up the pieces one by one, searching for three days and nights. Even after recovering most of them, the repaired jade was no longer the same. Just like her junior brother—no matter what, he couldn’t come back. Still, she often wore the broken Warm Sun Jade pendant close to her. Whenever she faced a difficult problem, Ji Xuanyuan would hold it in her hand, as if holding her junior brother’s hand. That way, she could deceive herself: she was never alone.
But now? Though she was reborn, she hadn’t yet received her junior brother’s Warm Sun Jade. Perhaps… she never would.
Ji Xuanyuan looked at her empty palm, her heart aching in her full bosom: ‘Why… why is there still a Gu Qingwan by my junior brother’s side? Without her, I would have a chance… No! I can’t think like that! I am his senior sister from the past life. I should help them be together.’
She glanced at the time. There was still one hour until the Divine Grade Auction ended. Ji Xuanyuan tried to force herself back to rationality. Once the auction was over, she would have no reason to stay. There were piles of court affairs waiting for her, and her mother was waiting. Ji Xuanyuan had many things to do, many roads to walk. But none of those roads led to her junior brother.
Did she really have to wait until she was stripped of power and walk the same old path as in her previous life? Be demoted and confined to Chentang Guan, disguise herself, and meet her junior brother again? But if she did, the countless citizens of the Immortal Dynasty would suffer under her sister’s regency…
Should she choose her junior brother? Or the world?
Lowering her eyelids, Ji Xuanyuan’s fingers unconsciously traced the phantom Warm Sun Jade, remaining silent for a long time.
Outside the window, one rare treasure after another was presented on the stage and then claimed by bidders. The auctioneer, an elderly woman, spoke through the magic formation, her voice loud and clear: “Next item—a volume of the Scripture of Longing and Love technique!”
At these words, the host’s voice suddenly pitched higher, pulling Ji Xuanyuan back from her chaotic thoughts. She looked up at the stage. A jade slip caught her eye. It was pure white, with a faint pink glow flowing through it.
The old woman introduced: “This technique was created by an ancient great being, whose life was one of lifelong infatuation, unwavering until death. Practitioners can turn emotions into cultivation—the deeper the love, the stronger the Dao. However—” She turned serious, her tone grave. “Once you cultivate this technique, you cannot switch to any other Path of Emotion. A lifetime of infatuation, until death. The drawbacks are enormous, but that great being used it to reach the Hedao Realm. It is a powerful technique with both risks and rewards.”
Starting bid: one million spirit stones, with increments of no less than one hundred thousand.
Murmurs immediately spread through the venue: “What? Can’t switch to another Path of Emotion?” “That means you’re stuck on one tree for life. What if the person you choose isn’t worthy? Isn’t your whole life ruined?” “You can’t say that. If you cultivate high enough, the person you don’t want…” “Yeah, and this technique can take you all the way to the Hedao Realm. It’s cheaper than finding another technique after reaching a certain level.”
Some shook their heads, others hesitated, all wondering: Was it worth spending millions of spirit stones on a technique that locks you in?
While most hesitated, someone had already started bidding: “One million one hundred thousand!”
Ji Xuanyuan followed the voice to a room on the lower level, where a clear female voice came from another chamber. A graceful figure with ink-black hair was holding up her number plate. That woman was none other than Gu Qingwan. Her face was slightly flushed, her gaze determined. Beside her sat the Gu Family Matron, her expression hesitant as she asked, “Wan’er, are you planning to…?”
The matron didn’t finish, but it was clear she knew her daughter wanted to cultivate that Path of Infatuation, and the person she had in mind was inevitably that waste from the Chu family.
Gu Qingwan nodded firmly: “Yes, my mind is made up. I didn’t expect this auction to have such a technique—this is my opportunity!”
The matron worried: “This technique might not be your only choice. Won’t you reconsider?”
Gu Qingwan shook her head: “Mother, don’t you know that hesitation leads to defeat? This is the Divine Grade Auction. The later items are rarer and more valuable. Even if a suitable technique appears, I won’t be able to compete for it. It’s better to gamble now. If I can’t win this technique, I won’t have confidence in the Medicine King Valley Trial. Do you want your daughter to die in the trial?”
Faced with this rebuttal, the matron could only sigh in defeat: “Alas, everything is fate. Do as you wish.”
From a distance, Ji Xuanyuan saw the Gu mother and daughter seemingly arguing—though she couldn’t hear the content, she could guess from their movements. She thought: ‘The Path of Infatuation—a lifetime of infatuation, unwavering until death. The deeper the love, the stronger the Dao. It seems this fairy is also sincere toward my junior brother.’
As a rival in love, Ji Xuanyuan had never regarded her highly. But at this moment, she saw in Gu Qingwan’s resolute eyes a moth-to-flame determination. Cultivating this Scripture of Longing and Love meant she could never switch to another Path of Emotion or fall in love with anyone else—it blocked all future paths.
Seeing Gu Qingwan’s resolve, Ji Xuanyuan inexplicably felt a little ashamed. For love, her rival was willing to walk a dark road to the end. What about her? In this life, what could she do for her junior brother?
Eliminate the Demon Path Alliance for him? Was she joking? Her junior brother was already a Holy Son, with memories from his past life, and now he had the sovereign in hand. As long as he wasn’t stupid, he could eliminate them himself. She could only assist at best.
In truth, Ji Xuanyuan knew it all too well. She had only squeezed her junior brother dry because she wanted to keep him by her side. To some extent, even reborn, she was still hurting him. Not to mention, she hadn’t even chosen her own Path of Emotion!
With that thought, Ji Xuanyuan mused: ‘Should I also choose this Path of Infatuation? If I do, I’ll inevitably hurt Fairy Gu. And my junior brother loves her. For his sake, I can’t hurt her. What other Path of Emotion would be more suitable?’
A flash of inspiration struck Ji Xuanyuan: the Path of Envious Passion!
The Imperial World-Ordering Scripture that Ji Xuanyuan cultivated could directly connect to various Paths of Emotion. Among them was the guidance of the Envious Passion. Using jealousy as a guide and sourness as fuel, she would turn the bitterness, reluctance, and insecurity in her heart into cultivation. The more jealous she was, the faster her cultivation grew; the more afraid she was of losing, the steadier her Dao Heart became.
Those who cultivated this path needed an object of jealousy. And Gu Qingwan was the perfect target.
If she helped Gu Qingwan win this technique, she could show that she had no intention of competing for Chu Yuan and befriend her by helping her pass the trial. Then, even if Gu Qingwan had suspicions, for the sake of the Medicine King Valley Trial, she would owe Ji Xuanyuan a favor.