Chapter 493 - 492: End of Volume 1

Chapter 493: Chapter 492: End of Volume 1

Chapter 492: End of Volume 1

Luo Wusheng’s mind was now full of question marks.

At first, he truly hadn’t understood what his Little Yuli was trying to do with that sudden move... but the moment their brows touched, he instantly realized.

This feeling was familiar.... wasn’t this spiritual communion... a merging of minds?

Without physical bodies, this kind of method actually seemed pretty good.

After all, he had tried something like this before, so the Demon Sect’s Holy Saint adapted quite quickly. As he felt their spirits begin to entwine, he even mischievously transmitted a certain "set of seeds"... a full set of dual cultivation postures through their mental connection.

Even though they couldn’t actually do anything right now, they could at least get familiar with it first.

And then it abruptly stopped.

"I-I think... I’m about to break through?"

The spiritual entanglement was suddenly cut off. The girl blinked her big, adorable eyes and weakly left behind that one sentence.

Then spiritual energy surged, her mind withdrew inward, and her outward consciousness severed.

Holding the Sword Fairy in his arms as her eyes closed, Luo Wusheng—who had just been mentally "interrupted"—scratched his head with a strange expression.

What he had transmitted was just knowledge, not cultivation or spiritual energy, right?

So why was Little Yuli suddenly breaking through to Golden Core?

Did spiritual dual cultivation still count as dual cultivation?

’She was probably already on the verge of breaking through. Now that her thoughts are clear and her heart unblocked, she just couldn’t suppress her realm any longer...’ he muttered inwardly.

With a helpless sigh, he calmed the excitement that had just been stirred within him and carefully examined the girl’s current state.

Above the immortal foundation in her dantian, the faint shadow of a forming core had appeared—undeniably the sign of a cultivator advancing to Golden Core.

"Mm... In the original story, Little Yuli broke through after the Netherkin chaos, when she returned to the Sword Sect. Under Shuangxue’s protection, she used that stick of Sword Enlightenment Incense I ended up using earlier... That part even involved the plot of her condensing a sword core that no one in the Sword Sect’s history had ever achieved..."

Holding the girl gently as she focused entirely on her breakthrough, Luo Wusheng sighed softly, placed a light kiss on her lips, and rose from the cloud.

Even though he was very familiar with the original story, when it came to the Sword Fairy’s breakthrough, it would still be safer to consult her master.

The energy meant to replace the Sword Enlightenment Incense—that portion of Soulblade Specter energy—was still in Shuangxue’s possession... Luo Wusheng could produce another portion of sword intent energy at the Heaven-tier Soulblade Specter level, but he had no way to guide Little Yuli in absorbing it according to the secret method of forming a sword core.

Which meant... it seemed he had to head down to the royal city.

With a light flip of his palm, the surrounding transparent space began to emit a sizzling sound. In moments, its already distorted boundaries started to collapse.

Without its controller, the space proved quite fragile.

Phoenix flames filled the sky once more, yet none approached Luo Wusheng as he abruptly vanished from the clouds.

...

When Luo Wusheng’s consciousness began to peer into the situation in the royal city, he happened to see three women engaged in discussion.

"—Split-soul disorder?"

Ling Shuangxue, the Sword Sect Peak Master who usually presented herself with cold indifference, now wore a look of astonishment.

"That’s right, split-soul disorder." Bai Xiaoyao nodded with grave seriousness, then adopted an expression of pity. "You may not know this, but my poor Sister Yuliu has shown that dazed, almost foolish expression more than once... As her master, you should understand that she’s not normally like that, right?"

Ling Shuangxue paused, recalling the sight of her disciple acting blank and silly, calling herself "Little Yuli" and addressing her dao companion as "Brother Luo"... Yes, that was certainly not the demeanor of a disciple she had personally raised.

Ling Shuangxue believed she understood her disciple quite well. Having cultivated under her, an emotionally distant master, since childhood, the girl’s ability to interact with others was likely only slightly better than her own.

And Frosty Snow Peak had no men to speak of, there were barely even a couple of female outer disciples doing chores. It was hardly an environment that could nurture a girl who would act coquettish toward a man.

To begin with, the fact that her disciple had managed to make friends at all had already surprised her.

That could at least be explained as growth from traveling the wider world... but that slightly foolish demeanor? No matter how one looked at it, it had nothing to do with "growth."

"There was a time when her condition flared up and I happened to be away. My senior brother took care of her for a while. Unexpectedly... well, after that, whenever it recurred, she became like that. Your Majesty has seen it before as well."

Bai Xiaoyao spoke calmly, smoothly passing the topic to the Empress.

With the gazes shifting toward her, the Empress nodded. "I... have indeed seen your disciple cling to Pavilion Head Luo in that manner."

That had been during the incident at Wandering Immortal Inn. There had been quite a few witnesses at the time—such as the group from the Martial Alliance who had come to compete for the Human Immortal List.

Ling Shuangxue fell into deep thought.

’If even his junior sister says so, and the Immortal Nation’s Empress corroborates it, then this matter...’

Ling Shuangxue felt a complicated mix of emotions.

If this were true, it meant that within her disciple’s body there was a hidden personality, and that personality... had fallen in love with her dao companion?

Even if her disciple herself didn’t know about it now, she couldn’t remain ignorant forever.

But if she did come to know, would that hidden split soul undergo some drastic change?

For example, could it suffer an emotional shock and turn dark, backlashing against the main soul? Or drag the main soul into self-destruction?

At the very least, it might cause deviation during cultivation.

The more Ling Shuangxue thought about it, the more worried she became. She couldn’t possibly not care about this disciple who had saved her life, nor could she stand by and watch her face the risk of an accident.

So then...

Just as she was deep in thought, the two young women beside her suddenly looked toward the horizon.

"That is..."

The Empress frowned slightly.

The phantom of Luo Wusheng in the sky was gradually fading, while the phoenix formed of flames began to draw in its blazing light.

Yet from within those flames, two streaks of light shot out.

One vanished instantly. The other slowly descended, landing before the three women, finally settling beside Ling Shuangxue, who instinctively reached out to support it.

Within that streak of light, the figure of a young girl emerged.

Lu Yuliu.

Seeing her disciple suddenly appear at her side like this—eyes tightly shut, consciousness withdrawn—Ling Shuangxue’s brows lifted. Her earlier worries seemed to overlap with the scene before her, prompting her to immediately place her fingers on Lu Yuliu’s wrist.

At the same time, a familiar voice echoed within her mind.

[It’s fine. Yuliu is just breaking through to Golden Core. Her body is unharmed.]

Within her sea of consciousness, someone’s figure gradually took shape.

Ling Shuangxue soon received confirmation through the flow of spiritual energy that her disciple was indeed condensing a Golden Core. She let out a quiet breath of relief, though her mood remained somewhat complicated as she directed her consciousness inward into her sea of consciousness.

[You... haven’t begun your resurrection yet? What happened to Yuliu? Why is she suddenly breaking through?]

[I was about to start resurrecting, actually. But I didn’t properly say goodbye to my wife, so I couldn’t resist coming back out.]

In Ling Shuangxue’s sea of consciousness, Luo Wusheng’s phantom form wore a smile filled with genuine affection as he continued:

[Well, due to certain circumstances, I can’t stay long. I’ll have to return and continue resurrecting soon... As for Yuliu, she probably gained quite a bit from observing that battle up close earlier. Combined with the fact that she was already having trouble suppressing her realm, she just happened to break through to Golden Core at this moment.]

[I see...]

Ling Shuangxue responded distractedly, so preoccupied that she didn’t even pay attention to the teasing undertones in some of his earlier remarks.

Luo Wusheng very much wanted to pull his beloved wife into his arms and comfort her properly, but unfortunately, his current form made that impossible.

After hesitating for a moment, he gave a light shake of his head.

[About Yuliu... there’s actually no need to worry about her condition. She told me herself that it’s merely a side effect of wielding the Sword Ancestor’s blade. Generally speaking, it only flares up once a month and lasts no more than twelve hours. So far, it hasn’t caused her any real harm...]

By saying this, Luo Wusheng was effectively admitting that he had heard their earlier conversation.

To be honest, he had only just realized that everything during the final battle had been on full public display. At the time, he himself hadn’t even figured out how to explain Little Yuli’s words...

Yet as he listened just now, he discovered that his junior sister had already explained everything for him.

It was just that... the direction of the explanation sounded a little more dangerous than the truth? And it neatly split the Sword Fairy’s feelings into two separate states—"episode" and "normal"?

...

At the same moment, inside Bai Xiaoyao’s sea of consciousness:

[Senior Brother thinks my explanation was quite fitting too, doesn’t he?]

Hearing the playful voice of the young girl, Luo Wusheng twitched the corner of his mouth.

[Those words... you came up with them yourself?]

[Of course. With Yuliu’s thin skin, how could she possibly explain something like that clearly to me? But it wasn’t hard to guess. Based on the changes in her behavior, I could deduce nine-tenths of it... Just like I can guess that the origin of your relationship with her also began because of that so-called "episode state," back on that Sea-Crossing Boat. Am I right?]

Luo Wusheng kept his head down and said nothing.

But Bai Xiaoyao was right about one thing, he did feel that this explanation had temporarily resolved the relationship issue that had been giving him a headache.

Just as he had once worried about Little Yuli discovering his relationship with Shuangxue, he was equally worried about his wife suddenly realizing that he, as her husband, hadn’t even spared her own disciple...

In the past, he might have faced it calmly. But now...

He had really trusted that white-haired loli’s divination!

Still, there was no helping it. Heavy is the head that wears the crown. Now that his "small goal" had finally begun to take shape, he would have to confront issues like this sooner or later.

In fact, the current situation was better than he had anticipated...

A flicker passed through Luo Wusheng’s eyes.

At that moment, Bai Xiaoyao changed the topic.

[Hehe~ Putting that aside, shall I tell Senior Brother about my own plans for what comes next?]

...

Luo Wusheng’s consciousness gradually withdrew.

What he had projected into the seas of consciousness of the women in the royal city were merely slivers of divided spiritual light. His half-dead, half-living body was now situated above the surface of a lake.

The Ascending Immortality Lake.

The very place where the former Immortal Nation Emperor had once suppressed Yao Ji.

Now, however, phoenix flames were continuously crossing through space and pouring into the lake.

After leaving the clouded sky, Luo Wusheng had sensed that this place was inexplicably drawing him in. After some thought, he changed his original plan of going directly to the royal city to say goodbye.

—All right, perhaps there was also a tiny bit of avoidance involved—escaping the ongoing topic at that time.

"Tsk. The Empress really is asking whether I already know something... Is she referring to the Trinity of Pristine States? Or what happened at the Imperial Pool that day?"

"Hm? She suddenly doesn’t care about the answer anymore? Is that Her Majesty’s magnanimity at work..."

"Shuangxue is starting to inject the Soulblade Specter energy I once gave her into Little Yuli’s body... As expected, she’s very cautious about Yuli’s condition. She’s no longer planning to lay everything bare in one breath like before. Mm, slow and steady is good... Hiss, why do I have the feeling that a death sentence just got commuted to a suspended one?"

"But it seems she wants to try curing Little Yuli’s condition... That’s destined to be futile. That’s a condition at the level of world laws, after all."

"...Come to think of it, my resurrection this time will take forty-nine days. Does that mean I’ll miss Little Yuli’s next episode? Ah well, I’ll just let things take their course."

"Yao Ji said she’ll stay in the royal city for a few more days. After wrapping up matters at the Demon Artifact Pavilion, she’ll return to the Netherland. Just like in the original story, she plans to form her Golden Core in the Heart Demon Cavern, preparing to explore the Ancient Heavenly Gate ruins together with Little Yuli... Seems fine on the surface, but I have a feeling she’ll take the opportunity to probe that mysterious master of mine. I should at least give her a reminder..."

"Mm. Finally, let me offer a small token of my feelings to everyone..."

Luo Wusheng lightly snapped his fingers.

As the flames at the horizon receded, the sky reappeared, already tinged with nightfall.

With that snap, his figure faded completely into illusion, while the gathered flames in the sky burst open one after another.

Amid the blooming fireworks, three young women in the royal city gazed at the magnificent spectacle with shining eyes. Many people who had fainted earlier from directly witnessing the Dao’s laws began clutching their heads as they awoke.

"Ugh... what happened?"

"Is the Netherkin chaos over?"

"So beautiful... If only there were two more girls from the Red Blossom Pavilion here, that would be perfect..."

One by one, people rose in the glow of firelight.

The flames illuminated the faint upward curve of Bai Xiaoyao’s lips.

She murmured softly to herself, "The answer and compensation I want—Senior Brother mustn’t forget a single thing after he resurrects..."

Elsewhere, a black token at Ling Shuangxue’s waist suddenly lit up.

While controlling the Soulblade Specter energy in her hand, the Frosty Snow Peak Master used spiritual energy to retrieve the Sword Sect’s highest-level command token. Her spiritual awareness swept over the additional text that had appeared upon it.

Clatter

The token fell to the ground.

Ling Shuangxue’s expression became complicated and strange.

Beside her, the Empress—perhaps for some reason—shifted her gaze toward the direction of the imperial palace, completely unaware of the change here.

A sword sheath slipped into the hand hidden within her imperial sleeve, and faintly, a peculiar sheet of paper seemed adhered to it.

Sparks of starlike fire drifted down across the sky.

And no one immediately noticed that on Ascending Immortality Lake outside the royal city, a towering tree had somehow sprouted from the water.

Its appearance closely resembled the parasol tree within Qifeng City, yet this one was not withered. Instead, it flourished with vitality, faint sparks circling around it.

Three ordinary red strings were tied to one of its branches, swaying gently with the leaves in the wind.

Beneath the tree, deep under the lake.

Beyond a thin veil of spatial separation, a dark, profound eyeball gleamed—seeming capable of seeing straight into the thoughts of the heart...

Gradually, noise and commotion spread through the royal city. This night was destined to leave no one sleeping easily.

’End of Volume 1’

<+>

<+>

<+>

<+>

<+>

<+>

Tn: I updated the story daily, but if you want to see more Chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.

Latest Chapter: <anno data-annotation-id="0aee69c5-0ce9-bfae-435f-6874d0902a0b" data-title="Chapter 571: To See or Not to See?">Chapter 571: To See or Not to See?¹</anno>

Link: <anno data-annotation-id="472d2c23-45f5-4f89-78bf-d7d803cce732" data-title="https://www.patreon.com/u93297024/posts/Chapter-571-to-163855664">https://www.patreon.com/u93297024/posts/Chapter-571-to-163855664¹</anno>