Shen Qinghan shielded Xu Muxue behind her, taking a defensive stance. “Master Qin, how exactly have I offended you? I have repeatedly yielded—why do you persist in forcing this?”
“Shen Qinghan, are you truly foolish, or just pretending?”
Qin Qin sneered. “There’s never been any possibility for us to coexist, hasn’t there?”
“Why? We’re from the same sect. Can’t we just sit down and talk this through?”
Shen Qinghan pleaded desperately.
“Do you really not know?”
“Know what?”
Qin Qin fell silent for a moment, then said, “Fine. I’ll let you die with clarity.”
“Do you know why before the Nascent Soul stage, your cultivation progressed smoothly without ever hitting a bottleneck?”
Before Shen Qinghan could answer, Qin Qin shook her head. “That’s because you carry the Supreme Destiny. The Heavenly Dao naturally aids your breakthroughs.”
“Then why am I stuck before Nascent Soul, unable to advance?”
“Hah.” Qin Qin let out a cold laugh. “You should ask your beloved Master.”
“Master… Xu Mu, what happened to him?”
“So it turns out you’re not evil—you’re just stupid, spoiled by Xu Mu’s protection.”
Qin Qin mocked Shen Qinghan with a contemptuous gaze.
“To repair your spiritual root, he didn’t hesitate to plunder everywhere, forcibly stripping others’ spiritual roots to patch yours. Such deep ‘affection,’ how could it be anything but monstrous?”
“Stripping others’ spiritual roots?”
“Yes, stealing others’ spiritual roots. Even in this cutthroat Cultivation World, that’s an absolutely forbidden and despicable crime. Anyone who seizes another’s spiritual root is fair game to all cultivators.” Qin Qin smiled coldly.
“Your most revered master, Xu Mu—the most talented Sect Master the Sword Sect has ever had—did exactly that to fix your innate talent.”
Shen Qinghan was stunned.
She remembered it all too well. From the earliest memories she had, she had been wandering the streets. No father, no mother, and every day the biggest problem was where to find even a scrap of food.
Back then, there was no First Disciple of the Sword Sect, no Qingyue Fairy, just a little beggar girl fighting others for soggy bread found in a puddle.
Then Xu Mu appeared.
He looked somewhat frail, but his expression was full of ambition and spirit. He helped her snatch a whole stale bun, and she tore off half to give him in thanks. He accepted it, bit into it, and forced a difficult smile.
“Do you want to cultivate immortality?”
That was the first thing Xu Mu ever said to her.
After that, she followed him to the Sword Sect.
She knew she was born without much cultivation talent. Other disciples could break from Qi Refinement Stage Three to Stage Eight within three months, but she sat in meditation for a whole year and still lingered at Qi Refinement Stage Four.
But she didn’t feel bad about it; at least now she had enough to eat, didn’t she?
Xu Mu often produced all kinds of delicious food out of nowhere in front of her, and she was always delighted. Back when she begged on the streets, such a life was unimaginable.
There were fragrant chicken legs, a reliable master, a small courtyard—she was content, very content.
But Master Xu never seemed happy.
Every time she carefully bit into a chicken leg, he would sigh softly. He’d reach out as if to pat her head, but would always stop halfway.
Other peak lords’ masters often gently touched their disciples’ heads, but her master had never done so.
Had she made him unhappy somehow?
Later, Master Xu began to leave home more frequently.
Every time he descended the mountain, he brought back small trinkets from the outside world. They were various and exquisitely crafted; she liked them very much.
Before giving her each gift, Master Xu would require her to cultivate for half an hour. During that time, he’d place his hands on her back, and a warm energy would flow from his palms throughout her body.
That was the only physical contact she ever had with him.
Then, for some unknown reason, her cultivation surged forward. No one else in the Sword Sect could surpass her, nor defeat her in combat. After successfully forming her Golden Core, she naturally became a Gold Core Elder of the sect.
Could it be that Master Xu had been stealing others’ spiritual roots to implant into her, enabling her to repeatedly break through?
Later, Master Xu rebelled—forsaking his bright future as Sect Master to fall into the Demonic Path. She never understood why such a delicate, somewhat clumsy, yet kind master would suddenly turn so cold and heartless.
So she pierced his heart, as if trying to pull that good master out from within.
But no—he just died.
She mourned for a long time. The Golden Core she had painstakingly formed shattered from the emotional turmoil. When she later learned Xu Mu had not died but fled secretly, a burning flame seemed to ignite inside her chest.
She wanted to find Xu Mu, to ask him why.
Why had he taken her in, kept her company, only to decisively abandon her when she had come to depend on him completely?
She had cultivated so long with few desires, but this one thing she had to know.
“Could it be… that he truly fell into demonic cultivation because he stole others’ spiritual roots, something the Righteous Path cannot tolerate?”
Shen Qinghan murmured, her growing fear spreading like wildfire.
Could the truth she had sought so desperately, the faith she had placed in Xu Mu, be such a cruel mistake?
Clang!
The Qingyue Sword slipped from Shen Qinghan’s hand and clattered to the ground. She crouched, covering her head, her face pale.
“Shen Qinghan, I don’t hate you—I pity you. Two bearers of the Supreme Destiny cannot exist in one continent. You were spoiled by Xu Mu. The reason you remain stuck before the Nascent Soul stage is because you absorbed too many other people’s spiritual roots, damaging Heaven’s harmony. The Heavenly Dao will no longer aid you.”
Qin Qin looked down at Shen Qinghan, who had completely lost the will to resist, her eyes full of pity.
“One continent cannot carry two Supreme Destiny bearers. Rest assured and go quietly.” Qin Qin raised her long sword. “Death only cleanses your body’s sins. Return to me, and you shall be restored.”
With those words, her sword swung down mercilessly toward Shen Qinghan.
But in the next instant, a flash darted before her eyes. Seeing clearly what was in front of her, Qin Qin’s pupils contracted sharply, and she quickly deflected the strike. The formidable slash tore into the earth beside them, cleaving a massive chasm.
“If you dare try to break my disciple’s Dao heart again, come find her down below.”
Xu Muxue gripped Song Yu’s nape and stood before Shen Qinghan, speaking coldly.
“Y-you… what did you say…?”
Shen Qinghan looked up in shock at Xu Muxue, tears still streaking her face.
“I said—”
Xu Muxue turned to her and gave a big smile.
“I am your Master, you foolish girl.”