Gu Chengming woke up from the pain.
To be precise, it was the numbing sensation of his bones slowly reassembling in his body that pulled him back from his coma.
Emperor Bai was indeed a top-tier body-tempering technique; even though Gu Chengming was not actively operating it, it still maintained half of its power to continuously repair his right arm.
Gu Chengming opened his eyes and saw an unfamiliar ceiling... well, that trope was a bit old.
Turning his head, he saw Fu Xiaoxiao slumped over the small table by the bed, fast asleep. Half of her face was buried in her arms, the other half exposed, with her mouth slightly ajar.
Her hand was resting on Gu Chengming’s left wrist, and a layer of red dust aura still lingered on her fingertips; she had clearly been using the Red Dust Technique to assist in treating his injuries.
From her slumped sleeping posture, she must have stood guard the entire night.
Gu Chengming did not move, quietly watching her for a while until Fu Xiaoxiao’s nose wrinkled and she muttered a sleep-talking phrase: "Don't go..."
Gu Chengming couldn’t help but smile, gathering the fingers Fu Xiaoxiao had placed on his wrist to make her hold more comfortably.
Fu Xiaoxiao seemed to feel something; her brow relaxed, the corners of her mouth curved up unconsciously, and then she drifted back into a deep sleep.
...
Su Qiuzhi arrived on the second day after Gu Chengming woke up.
As usual, she didn't use the front door but climbed over the wall.
After landing, she brushed the dust off her clothes, strode to Gu Chengming’s bed, and tossed a bundle onto the table. "Is the injury healed yet?"
"Still recovering."
Su Qiuzhi scanned his bandaged right arm, her gaze lingering on it for two breaths. After a moment of silence, she suddenly spoke.
"Everything that happened that night, I saw it all."
Gu Chengming’s movements paused slightly.
"But don't worry, I haven't told anyone."
"Thank you."
"No need for thanks." Su Qiuzhi took a sip of tea. "Anyway, you have enough secrets already; one more doesn't make a difference."
She fell silent for another moment after speaking, as if brewing something.
Then she stood up, leaning her hands on the edge of the table and leaning closer.
Her movements were exactly the same as last time.
"So."
She stared into Gu Chengming’s eyes, saying one word at a time.
"When will your injury be healed?"
Gu Chengming sensed a faint trace of trouble. "...Why ask that?"
"You promised me." Su Qiuzhi’s ear tips turned red again, but her gaze was steadier than last time. "You said once the sect matters were settled, we would..."
She paused, swallowing the rest of the sentence, but the meaning was expressed perfectly.
Gu Chengming thought to himself, 'You really do remember.'
"Uh... the injury isn't healed yet. Allow me to recover for a few more days—"
"Fine. I'll come back in a few days."
...
This matter eventually reached Fu Xiaoxiao’s ears.
To be precise, it happened when Su Qiuzhi was climbing over the wall of the Jingsi Courtyard for the fourth time and happened to be caught red-handed by Fu Xiaoxiao passing by.
The scene at the time was quite spectacular.
Su Qiuzhi had one leg hooked over the top of the wall, while Fu Xiaoxiao stood at the base, looking up at her with an expressionless face.
The two stared at each other for five breaths.
The air froze.
Su Qiuzhi was the first to break the silence. "...Greetings, Acting Sect Master Fu."
Fu Xiaoxiao pulled a document stamped with the Acting Sect Master’s seal from her sleeve and slapped it onto the top of the wall, right next to the leg Su Qiuzhi was using to straddle it.
"Given your outstanding performance during this crisis, I have decided to entrust you with a heavy responsibility—starting today, you will be responsible for coordinating all aftermath work for this Beihuan Calamity."
Su Qiuzhi picked up the document and scanned it, her face gradually changing.
The work content included but was not limited to: checking the emotional recovery status of every disciple in the sect, organizing the repair list for damaged buildings, calculating the number of spirit stones consumed, and drafting an aftermath report to the Daqian imperial court...
"Assist Elder Kurong in organizing all sect business archives related to Yun Ni within the last three years."
Su Qiuzhi swallowed hard.
"Is there a problem?" Fu Xiaoxiao asked with a smile that was so kind it made one's skin crawl.
"No." Su Qiuzhi gritted her teeth.
"Very good." Fu Xiaoxiao clapped her hands. "Assume your post immediately!"
Su Qiuzhi scrambled down from the wall and had to run away dejectedly, thinking to herself, 'Damn it, how can I run into the Hehuan Sect upper management at a time like this?'
Fu Xiaoxiao watched her departing figure, the corners of her mouth curling slightly.
'Trying to steal my man? I'll keep you busy to death.'
Su Qiuzhi’s nightmare began there.
From the next day on, she found her schedule packed to the brim, busy from dawn to dusk without even a moment to catch her breath.
Whenever she finally finished a day’s work and thought of using the moonlight to climb the wall of the Jingsi Courtyard, she would always happen to receive a new emergency task.
Furthermore, every single one was stamped with the Acting Sect Master’s seal and accompanied by a line of elegant small characters: "This matter is urgent, handle overnight."
The first time, Su Qiuzhi thought it was a coincidence.
The second time, she felt it was suspicious.
By the third time, Fu Xiaoxiao even drew a smiley face on the official document, and Su Qiuzhi finally realized.
"Dreadful privileged dog!!" Su Qiuzhi hated her so much her teeth ached.
She was being targeted! On the surface, Fu Xiaoxiao was entrusting her with heavy responsibilities, but in reality, she was using every trick in the book to ensure she had no time to find Gu Chengming!
Whenever she thought of dual cultivation, official business arrived. Whenever she made time, an emergency task followed.
Su Qiuzhi flipped through her work log for the past few days and found that her workload was roughly four times that of a normal disciple of the same rank.
Just when she had finally finished everything on hand, Elder Kurong happened to need her to accompany her early tomorrow morning to organize the underground archive room.
And she couldn't find a reason to refuse any of these tasks; after all, these were indeed things that needed to be done for the aftermath, and she was indeed one of the few disciples in the sect who understood the inside details and had sufficient ability to execute them.
'That dreadful privileged dog! Relying on being the Acting Sect Master to seek personal gain through public office! Settling a personal grudge under the guise of official business! Oppressing law-abiding citizens!'
'You wait! Once I'm done with all this crap, I will definitely carry out dual cultivation to the end! Even if you increase the aftermath workload tenfold, don't think you can stop me, Su Qiuzhi!'
"None of those old geezers in the Hehuan Sect are any good!" she said in a fit of pique.
【?】
The consciousness in her mind expressed its opinion in a timely manner.
"You too!"
【?!】
The consciousness in her mind was hit by stray fire.
'What does that have to do with me!'
This old predecessor of the Hehuan Sect felt incredibly wronged.
...
Three days later.
His right arm was still sore and weak, but the damage to the meridians had been seventy to eighty percent repaired by the resonance of a hundred bones; the rest just needed time to heal slowly.
What truly surprised Gu Chengming was his realm, which had already broken through to the Third Realm, Second Level.
This breakthrough was largely thanks to the Yin Yang Fish, which had refilled his spiritual energy foundation with pure yin and yang qi during the process of repairing his meridians, solving the hidden danger of his previously unstable realm.
Gu Chengming sensed his condition carefully.
That one punch had vented all the floating red dust aura in his body at once, and the Yin Yang Fish had taken the opportunity while repairing his meridians to lay a new foundation using its own source power.
This new Third Realm, Second Level was as steady as a rock.
The Yin Yang Fish’s care for him had already far exceeded the realm of mere interest.
【Zhou Rites Heavenly Rectifying Art spoke with approval: Good. Protecting the safety of a whole sect with your own power this time is indeed a righteous act. However, after your success, remember to remain humble and self-controlled; do not become arrogant about your merit.】
【Zhou Rites Heavenly Rectifying Art Favorability has reached its limit】
Oh right, the bond mission for Zhou Rites hadn't been unlocked yet.
Gu Chengming grew thoughtful.
During this period, 【Yin Yang Creation Strategy also praised: The pure love route and the harem route are both progressing steadily. Two routes running in parallel without conflict—this is the most ideal plot direction.】
The aftermath work proceeded in an orderly fashion over the next few days.
Although the vast majority of disciples were not clear on exactly what happened that night, the vague realization that "something terrifying came and then was smashed by someone" was enough to cause a subtle change in the atmosphere of the entire Hongchen Mountain.
Although the memories of being corroded by sorrow that night became much more blurred afterward, many disciples did not sleep well for the next few days and were distracted during practice.
The already popular topic of the dream sword cultivator reached a new peak after this event. Based on the forty-ninth version of the portrait, Qingluo added a new "Sword-Sovereign Protecting the Mountain Map," changing the art style from the previous "chance encounter in a dream" to "shielding the enemy with his back." It was said that after the first painting was completed, the disciples gathering to watch almost trampled the threshold of Qingluo’s studio.
Even more absurd was that people had started writing novels.
The novel was titled "A Sword Comes to Red Dust Mountain." When Elder Kurong saw this novel, she felt unwell all over.
She read expressionlessly: "'The sword cultivator gathered her into his arms, his low voice echoing in her ear: Don't be afraid, I'm here.'" Kurong closed the novel and shut her eyes.
"Find the person who wrote this thing and make them copy the 'Hehuan Sect Rules' a hundred times."
"Reporting to the Elder," a disciple nearby weakly raised her hand. "Thirty people wrote this; it was a collaborative creation."
Kurong: "..."
"Then punish them all together!"
...
However, as the instigator of this storm, Gu Chengming’s state could be described in two words.
—Lying down.
It wasn't that his injuries were so severe; with the repair ability of the resonance of a hundred bones plus the gift of the Yin Yang Fish, his recovery speed far exceeded that of ordinary people.
The main reason was that Fu Xiaoxiao wouldn't let him get up. "If the injury isn't healed, stay lying down." Fu Xiaoxiao said this sentence at least three times a day.
In the morning, when Gu Chengming wanted to get up to stretch his muscles, Fu Xiaoxiao pushed him back: "If the injury isn't healed, stay lying down."
At noon, when Gu Chengming wanted to go to the Jingsi Courtyard to get some of his things, Fu Xiaoxiao blocked the door: "If the injury isn't healed, stay lying down."
In the evening, when Gu Chengming said he wanted to go out for some fresh air, Fu Xiaoxiao looked up at him: "If—the—injury—isn't—healed—stay—lying—down."
In this situation, Emperor Bai even thought it was caused by its punch being too forceful.
【It consoled him with some guilt: Emperor Gu is heavily injured, yet still the center of everyone's attention, and accompanied by a beauty.】
【As expected of Emperor Gu! Injured as it should be! Injured beautifully!】
What did it mean by 'injured beautifully'?
On the fifth day of recovery, a communication jade slip from the capital was handed to Gu Chengming by Xu Huayi. The jade slip was engraved with the emblem of the Night Guard Division, and the spiritual energy imprint showed the sender was Zhou Qingmu.
Gu Chengming activated his spiritual energy, the jade slip lit up with a faint glow, and Zhou Qingmu’s voice followed.
"Chengming, I have read the detailed report of the Hehuan Sect trip. Well done."
"Dealing alone with the clone of one of the eight Venerables of the Longevity Sect, killing a fourth realm peak evil being with a third realm body, while simultaneously preserving the lives of over a thousand Hehuan Sect disciples and the face of Daqian—the Night Guard Division will not forget this merit, nor will Daqian."
"Given your outstanding performance in this mission, as well as the accumulated merits from the previous series of cases in the capital, after internal evaluation by the Night Guard Division, you are now formally appointed as a Vice Commander of the Night Guard Division."
"The appointment document will be delivered through official channels later. At that time, you will need to return to the capital in person to go through the formalities."
"No rush, recover from your injuries first."
The spiritual light faded, and the room returned to silence.
Gu Chengming held the jade slip and sat on the bed for a while.
Vice Commander of the Night Guard Division—and he hadn't even been in the Night Guard Division for two years yet.
【Zhou Rites Heavenly Rectifying Art spoke in a timely manner: The position of Vice Commander carries great weight and power. I hope Chengming remembers the principle that 'where there is great power, there is great danger,' and acts even more prudently.】
【Flowing Cloud Following Moon Sword Art rarely popped up and said: Isn't a Vice Commander just a high-level laborer? Don't be happy too soon.】
After speaking, it shrank back and stopped talking.
—It was always like this, brief and stinging.
【Red Dust Phantom Step spoke last: Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Gu, but the most important thing right now isn't a promotion; we still need to gather more information about the Longevity Sect.】
Gu Chengming thought to himself that this external brain was truly useful.
Just as Red Dust Phantom Step said, 'Beihuan' of the Longevity Sect was a three-in-one entity; he had smashed one part, but 'Joy' and 'Stillness' remained.
Furthermore, according to the intelligence provided by Xu Huayi, Beihuan was only one of the eight Venerables of the Longevity Sect.
This time it was the Hehuan Sect; what about next time?
He had to make full preparations, at least having a way to frontally crush Beihuan without relying on the power of the Yin Yang Fish.
Fu Xiaoxiao learned the news shortly after Gu Chengming received the jade slip, and her reaction was quite subtle.
She was stunned for a moment, then gave an "oh," and then pretended not to care as she picked up her teacup and took a sip, but the cup was empty.
The expression on her face when she put down the empty cup was very complicated.
"Vice Commander, huh."
"Mhm."
"Then... are you going back to the capital?"
She tried to maintain a flat tone when she said this, but the ending of her sentence uncontrollably drifted upward.
"Director Zhou said there's no rush and to wait until my injuries are healed before going back."
Fu Xiaoxiao’s shoulders visibly relaxed.
"That's good then." She lowered her head, pretending to organize the medicine bottles on the table. "The injury isn't healed yet; you should recover for at least... another half a month, right?"
Gu Chengming said with a trace of amusement, "But Elder Jingxin said it would be healed in ten days."
"That's because Jingxin doesn't understand the severity of this kind of injury."
Fu Xiaoxiao talked nonsense with a straight face: "How are ten days enough? At least twenty days. No, a month. As the Acting Sect Master, I am responsible for our guest's injury and must ensure you are fully recovered before letting you go."
Gu Chengming looked at her.
Being stared at like that, the tips of Fu Xiaoxiao’s ears began to redden again, but she wouldn't yield an inch. "One month."
"Alright."
"Yay!"
Fu Xiaoxiao realized she had exposed herself as soon as those words left her mouth. She snapped her head away and picked up the empty teacup again, taking another sip of non-existent tea.
...
The date for Gu Chengming to leave the Hehuan Sect was set for one month later.
On the surface, Fu Xiaoxiao accepted this fact, even proactively helping him pack his bags, maintaining the appearance of an Acting Sect Master who wanted to see a guest off properly.
But that afternoon, she did something extremely unusual.
She went to find Jingxin.
Elder Jingxin’s residence was in a bamboo hut on the eastern foothills of Hongchen Mountain. Fu Xiaoxiao stood at the hut's door, taking deep breaths, wanting to knock but then withdrawing her hand, repeating this three times.
The door opened from the inside, and Jingxin looked at the Acting Sect Master standing at the door with her hand half-raised, tilting her head slightly.
"Senior Sister Fu?"
"Jingxin."
Fu Xiaoxiao cleared her throat, trying to make her tone sound like she was discussing official business. "I have some doubts regarding my cultivation and wish to consult you."
"Doubts regarding cultivation?" Jingxin stepped aside to let her in, a hint of curiosity in her tone. "Please speak, Senior Sister."
Fu Xiaoxiao sat on a prayer mat and picked up the tea Jingxin handed her; her hand was shaking so much the tea nearly splashed out.
"It's like this." She stared at the tea leaves in her cup, her voice getting smaller as she spoke. "I have been researching some... deep applications of the Red Dust Technique recently."
"Mhm."
"Specifically, the kind between two people, regarding spiritual energy interaction..."
"Mhm."
"You know, yin and yang harmony, dual cultivation... isn't that our Hehuan Sect’s specialty..."
"Mhm."
"So I wanted to ask if there are any methods that are more..."
"More capable of leaving a deep impression on the other party?"
The bamboo hut was silent for five breaths.
Jingxin looked at the Fish-Managing Elder before her, who was over four hundred years old but currently sitting restlessly like a sixteen-year-old girl, wringing the corner of her robe with her ear tips bright red and her eyes darting around, too afraid to look at anyone. She understood instantly.
She was a senior elder of the Hehuan Sect, after all; what kind of emotional state had she not seen?
Fu Xiaoxiao was talking about "deep applications of the Red Dust Technique," but her posture of wanting to shrink into a ball clearly indicated she wanted to leave her sweetheart with an unforgettable night before he left.
A complex emotion welled up in Jingxin’s heart, mostly relief.
She knew Fu Xiaoxiao too well; over a hundred years ago, her dao foundation shattered, and since then, she had struggled to support herself as the Fish-Managing Elder, pouring all her heart into the Yin Yang Fish and sect affairs. She had never seen her take an interest in anyone.
But now? This person who once sneered at love was sitting before her, stammering to ask how she could perform better during dual cultivation.
Jingxin suddenly felt her nose tingle.
"Senior Sister."
Jingxin’s voice became exceptionally gentle. She stood up and walked to a bookshelf, taking down a sandalwood box covered in a thin layer of dust from the top shelf.
"This is?"
"Some insights passed down by word of mouth through generations of elders in the sect."
Jingxin placed the box before Fu Xiaoxiao, a knowing smile playing on her lips. "They aren't the kind written in the scriptures; they are truly practical ones."
She opened the box, revealing several rolls of yellowed silk with different handwritings, clearly written by different hands.
"This roll is about controlling the rhythm of spiritual energy resonance; beginners often act too hastily, which leads to the opposite effect."
Jingxin flipped through the rolls one by one for her, her tone patient and detailed.
"This roll is about the application of red dust aura; using red dust aura to guide the other party’s perception during dual cultivation can make the sensations of both parties deeper."
"And this roll..." Jingxin hesitated for a moment but still handed it over. "It's about creating an atmosphere."
Fu Xiaoxiao took the silk roll and looked down, her eyes widening in shock. "This, this is too..."
"Senior Sister." Jingxin gently pressed her hand down as she tried to stuff the silk back, her gaze serious. "Since you came to ask, it shows you truly care about this person."
"The Hehuan Sect cultivates the Great Dao of the Red Dust. What is the foundation of the Great Dao of the Red Dust? It is sincerity."
"As long as it is sincere, there is nothing to be ashamed of."
Fu Xiaoxiao kept her head down, then she stuffed all the silk rolls into her sleeve, stood up, and walked out without looking back.
"Thanks!"
Jingxin watched her departing back, shook her head, and took a sip of tea.
...
After Fu Xiaoxiao returned to her room, she closed the doors and windows tightly before daring to spread out those silk rolls for careful study.
"People actually do this kind of thing!"
She covered her face with a silk roll, and after cooling down for a moment, she picked it up and continued reading.
This was repeated for about an hour.
Finally, Fu Xiaoxiao crawled out from under the covers and took a deep breath. Then she opened the very bottom layer of the sandalwood box Jingxin had given her—there was also a small embroidered pouch, which Jingxin had tucked in separately, saying it was an "auxiliary prop for creating an atmosphere."
"Do people really do this kind of thing..." she muttered under her breath, turning to the next page, her pupils shrinking suddenly.
Fu Xiaoxiao opened the pouch and poured out a pair of fuzzy things from within.
There was also a small slip of paper attached to the pouch, with Jingxin’s elegant handwriting: "According to feedback from the Red Dust Technique in recent years, young male cultivators are very interested in this type of decoration. Senior Sister, feel free to use it boldly."
"P.S.: The ears will move automatically according to the wearer's emotions; they will droop when shy and stand up when happy."
Fu Xiaoxiao put on the cat ears and looked in the bronze mirror.
The ears were twitching slightly because she was very nervous.
"...Just this once."
She said to herself in the mirror. The cat ears on her head drooped slightly because of her nervousness, looking quite pitiful.
...
That night, at the Hour of the Rat.
Gu Chengming was adjusting his breath in his room when he suddenly heard a very, very light sound of footsteps outside the door.
Gu Chengming opened his eyes, somewhat puzzled. Just as he was about to get up to open the door, it was pushed open a narrow crack first.
From that crack, half a fuzzy ear peeked in, then the other half.
Fu Xiaoxiao stood at the door, her hair scattered over her shoulders, and the two fuzzy cat ears on her head were twitching slightly along with her racing heartbeat.
Gu Chengming was a bit dazed. Fu Xiaoxiao took a deep breath, puffed out her chest, and tried to make her voice sound less shaky.
"I heard you young cultivators like this kind of thing... Meow?"
The final "meow" was originally meant to be "Meow-ears," but the words were so shameful that she swallowed the second half, resulting in a genuine cat cry.
The cat ears on her head completely drooped in that instant, almost flattening against her scalp.
Gu Chengming looked at the small, red-faced Acting Sect Master of the Hehuan Sect standing at the door with cat ears on her head, who was regretting everything at a speed visible to the naked eye.
【Yin Yang Creation Strategy was rarely silent for a moment before saying: Emperor Gu, you must take this down.】
—Damn it, why have you started calling me Emperor Gu too?
Wait, can you not call me Emperor Gu at a time like this?
Seeing Gu Chengming had no reaction for a long time, the little courage left in Fu Xiaoxiao’s heart was rapidly fading.
It’s over, it’s over, it’s over. Does he think it's weird? What decoration is very effective? It was all a lie!
Her hand was already reaching for the cat ears on her head, preparing to rip them off at light speed and bolt out the door, but then her wrist was grabbed.
"It looks quite good."
The cat ears snapped upright with a "shing."
Fu Xiaoxiao’s face turned red enough to smoke. She wanted to say something to salvage her dignity as the Acting Sect Master, but she opened her mouth only to find her brain was no longer working at all.
In the end, she only squeezed out a sentence: "...Then close the door."
Gu Chengming smiled.
The sound of the door closing echoed in the silent night, soft yet very firm.
The cat ears on her head gave a happy twitch the moment the door closed.
The next morning.
Sunlight poured into the room through the window lattice, casting mottled shadows on the floor.
Fu Xiaoxiao snuggled in Gu Chengming’s arms, the cat ears hanging crookedly on her head, one standing and one drooping. She looked like a satiated kitten, her eyes narrowed with a nearly foolishly satisfied smile on her face.
"Jingxin was right," she muttered vaguely.
"What?"
"Nothing." She rubbed her face against his chest, the cat ears swaying gently with the movement.
"...Next time you come back, I'll wear them for you again."
After saying this, she blushed first and buried her entire face in the quilt, leaving only the tips of two slightly twitching cat ears exposed.
Gu Chengming reached out and gently flicked the drooping cat ear; it immediately popped up and stood perfectly straight.
Fu Xiaoxiao bumped Gu Chengming’s hand forcefully and gave a huff.
...
Meanwhile, at the Longevity Sect sub-altar, the "Zhongshengxiang Hall."
Jintian had been standing before the corridor of the secret room for a full incense stick’s worth of time. Although he really didn't want to go down, he had to.
Jintian took a deep breath and stepped into the corridor.
The door to the secret room was open. When Jintian walked in, the first thing he saw was that pitch-black coffin.
A clear crack had appeared on the coffin, extending from the top of the lid to the side, as if something had burst from within.
Above the coffin, the phantom of Beihuan floated in mid-air.
Compared to their last meeting, that phantom had clearly "shrunk" by a circle. It wasn't that its volume had decreased, but its presence had weakened. Those constantly changing faces switched more slowly, the torrent of emotions had become thin, and the entire outline of the phantom was much more blurred, like a painting soaked in water.
"Joy" and "Stillness" were still there.
But the position of "Sorrow" was empty.
Jintian had once seen the complete three-in-one form of Beihuan; that was an existence at the Fifth Realm level, a top-tier combat power even across all of Daqian.
But now, one was missing.
The Fifth Realm was gone; Beihuan’s aura rested steadily at the half-step Fifth Realm, only a single step away from the threshold of the Fifth Realm, yet unable to cross it.
Jintian closed his eyes. He had already roughly pieced together what had happened from the information fragments remaining in Beihuan’s emotions.
Sorrow was trapped in an array; that part was within expectations. But the next part completely exceeded his understanding.
Someone had gathered the emotions of over a thousand Hehuan Sect disciples into themselves, then used emotion as power, their physical body as a carrier, and fury as a primer to shatter Sorrow’s physical form with a single punch.
Jintian stood before the coffin, his expression undergoing a spectacular process of change.
First was disbelief, then shock, and then rational analysis. The moment of Sorrow’s physicalization was indeed its most vulnerable moment. If it happened to sustain a blow exceeding its limit at that exact moment, it was theoretically possible for it to be defeated.
But immediately followed by more disbelief: A third realm cultivator? By what right? So what if it was the emotions of a thousand people?
But such was the fact. Thinking of his previous countless reminders, Jintian slowly raised his right hand and slapped his own forehead.
He was a bit exhausted.
Three years of planning, infiltrating the Hehuan Sect, cooperating with Yun Ni, cultivating heart-parasites, planting red dust seeds—he had step by step, carefully and cautiously, woven this great net for three years.
The result? Yun Ni was dead, the collective desires system had collapsed, the heart-parasites were uprooted, the red dust seeds were cleared, Sorrow was shattered, and Beihuan had dropped from the Fifth Realm to the Fourth Realm peak.
Not only did they not profit, they even lost a third of a Venerable.
Beihuan’s phantom turned slowly in the air, those residual emotional fluctuations conveying a meaning Jintian was very familiar with.
After Sorrow was gone, Beihuan’s feeding efficiency dropped by at least forty percent. Although "Joy" and "Stillness" could also absorb emotions, they were far less efficient than "Sorrow."
Even more fatal was that after losing "Sorrow," Beihuan’s three-in-one structure had developed a rift; the crack on that coffin was the most direct proof.
If a replacement could not be found quickly to fill the vacancy of "Sorrow," this crack would grow larger and larger, eventually causing the entire foundation of Beihuan’s existence to disintegrate.
Jintian slapped his forehead again. Truly a disaster.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.
"...Good." He finally spoke, his voice as calm as an end-of-year summary. "Three years of planning, a net loss of one Venerable."
He nodded, his expression evolving from pain to a kind of calm beyond pain. "Very good."
This was the open-mindedness after one's heart had turned to ashes.
Jintian turned and walked out of the secret room, up the corridor, and back to the main hall.
He stopped before that smiling clay sculpture in the center of the hall, looking up at that face mocking everything. Then he took a new communication jade slip from his sleeve and began to draft a report to those above.
His phrasing was difficult; he weighed his words for the duration of an incense stick before finally writing down a few concise lines.
"The Hehuan Sect plan failed. Yun Ni is dead, all red dust seeds are lost, Sorrow was killed, and Beihuan has dropped in realm, currently stuck at the Fourth Realm peak."
"The responsibility lies with me; please decide my punishment."
After writing, he looked at it again and felt something was not quite right.
So he added a line at the end: "P.S.: The person who killed Sorrow was a third realm cultivator."
He thought about it and added one more line.
"With one punch."
...
Somewhere at the Longevity Sect headquarters.
The person who received this jade slip was silent for a long time after reading it.
Then they placed the jade slip on the table.
"Third realm, one punch?"
The air was silent for ten breaths.
"Which old ghost from the primordial era has been resurrected again?"
Rate on N.U.
