Qingxuan Holy Land. Inquiry Heaven Pavilion.

A bronze mirror hung suspended in the air, with streams of Heavenly Dao principles and wisps of rich spiritual energy continuously converging upon it. Nian Zhaoxi sat cross-legged beneath the mirror, her hands constantly forming and shifting through incantation seals.

But in the next instant—

“Pfft!”

A mouthful of blood sprayed out. The floating bronze mirror shattered instantly, and Nian Zhaoxi herself seemed to have all her strength drained away as she collapsed limply to the ground. She was already at her limit. Her face was as pale as paper.

Yet, after only a brief rest, Nian Zhaoxi took out a brand-new bronze mirror. Her gaze was filled with unwavering determination.

“Junior Brother Gu, Senior Sister believes you were wronged. Wait for me, just wait for me!”

“Once I successfully refine the Heavenly Secrets Reincarnation Mirror, I will surely be able to clear your name!”

“Definitely, definitely!”

“Wait for me!”

With this thought, Nian Zhaoxi gritted her teeth and activated the incantation seals once more. The bronze mirror rose into the air again, and streams of mysterious power manifested around it.

Before her, a small mountain of bronze mirror fragments had already piled up, a testament to her countless failures. But she persisted.

She was attempting to refine the Heavenly Secrets Reincarnation Mirror, an artifact from the art of Heavenly Secrets that was profoundly mysterious and unfathomable. It could peer into the future and investigate the past.

Her sole purpose was to clear Gu Xiu’s name!

She sympathized with Qin Moran’s experience and understood her pain, but deep down, she refused to believe Gu Xiu was that kind of person. Yet she couldn’t prove it. She could only place her hopes on this mirror, praying it would be successfully refined and wash away the accusations against him.

While Nian Zhaoxi burned her own life essence for that slim chance, in the main hall of the Qingxuan Holy Land…

Sect Master Guan Xuelan, buried in administrative affairs, suddenly frowned. “Is your Eldest Senior Sister still busy refining that Heavenly Secrets Reincarnation Mirror?”

“Yes, Master. Please talk some sense into Senior Sister.”

“Eldest Senior Sister is like someone possessed. She won’t listen to anyone anymore. She insists we’ve misunderstood Gu Xiu; nothing we say gets through.”

“Refining that mirror not only consumes a practitioner’s cultivation base but also drains their lifespan. Every failure costs ten years of life; centuries of lifespan can vanish in an instant!”

“If she continues like this, she’ll drain herself dry and die!”

Standing below Guan Xuelan were Gu Xiu’s former senior sisters: Third Senior Sister Xu Wanqing, skilled in alchemy; Fifth Senior Sister Qin Moran, skilled in talisman arts; and Little Senior Sister Lu Qingyao, skilled in beast taming.

At this moment, all three faces were etched with worry over Nian Zhaoxi’s fanatical behavior.

“Gu Xiu again!” Hearing this name, Guan Xuelan’s expression darkened.

“Yes, it’s all Gu Xiu’s fault. That person brings harm wherever he goes. He hurt so many of us within the sect, and now that he’s gone, he’s still causing Eldest Senior Sister to fall into obsession,” Lu Qingyao was the first to curse.

Although Xu Wanqing and Qin Moran didn’t speak, their expressions mirrored Lu Qingyao’s sentiments.

Guan Xuelan frowned. “Where is Gu Xiu now?”

This… The three senior sisters were taken aback.

“What? Do you three really not know?” Guan Xuelan was surprised.

Lu Qingyao curled her lip. “He left the sect; I’d celebrate by setting off firecrackers if I could! Besides, I’ve been preparing a training ground for Little Junior Brother to practice beast taming. When would I have time to care about Gu Xiu?”

Guan Xuelan looked at Xu Wanqing and Qin Moran.

“I’ve been busy refining pills for Little Junior Brother, so I haven’t paid much attention,” Xu Wanqing said, shaking her head.

Qin Moran replied similarly, “This disciple has been busy crafting talismans for Little Junior Brother.”

Faced with such answers, Guan Xuelan couldn’t help but frown. “After all, Gu Xiu was once your junior brother. I thought… you might have secretly aided him…”

“Why would we aid him? He left; he severed ties with us completely. Why should we help him?” Lu Qingyao curled her lip again.

Although Xu Wanqing and Qin Moran remained silent, their expressions indicated their thoughts aligned with Lu Qingyao’s.

“This is troublesome,” Guan Xuelan muttered, frowning deeply. “Your Eldest Senior Sister has fallen into an obsession. Breaking it likely requires Gu Xiu himself. Without any trace of him, even I cannot persuade her.”

The three senior sisters frowned in unison. Their aversion towards Gu Xiu deepened.

It’s all his fault! Gone but still causing harm!

“If Master wishes to find Gu Xiu, perhaps you could search around the Tianqi Mountain Range,” Xu Wanqing spoke up. “Eldest Senior Sister once used Heavenly Secrets arts to detect something there.”

“Tianqi Mountain Range?” Guan Xuelan frowned. “Gu Xiu has no cultivation base; wouldn’t going there be seeking death?”

Xu Wanqing shook her head, indicating she didn’t know.

However, Qin Moran hesitated before speaking. “I heard Eldest Senior Sister mention that she suspects Gu Xiu might still be cultivating.”

What?

Guan Xuelan and the other two were stunned. Gu Xiu’s cultivation base… recovered??? How was that possible?

“I don’t know the specifics; I only heard her mention it casually once,” Qin Moran explained. “But she didn’t elaborate. However, I imagine even if Gu Xiu has started cultivating again, it probably wouldn’t be going very smoothly.”

Xu Wanqing speculated, “Gu Xiu has been unable to cultivate since returning three years ago; perhaps he’s just unwilling to accept it and is still trying.”

Guan Xuelan nodded; this guess seemed plausible.

“Then it’s over; no need to look for him—we definitely won’t find him,” Lu Qingyao shook her head dismissively.

The others were puzzled.

Lu Qingyao explained, “If Gu Xiu were content being an ordinary mortal—finding a place in a mortal city to live out his life—then maybe he could live a few more years.”

“But if he overestimates himself and tries to tread the path of cultivation again… then his life definitely won’t be long.”

Seeing that Master and her senior sisters still didn’t fully understand, Lu Qingyao sighed helplessly and elaborated.

“Think about it. What kind of person is Gu Xiu?”

“How many years has it been since he roamed the Jianghu? Over five hundred years! He spent five centuries in seclusion, and it’s already been three years since he returned.”

“Someone like him is even less experienced than a novice cultivator fresh out of training.”

“If he encounters powerful demonic beasts in the Tianqi Mountain Range, maybe that’s better—at least he’d die quickly. But if he encounters other cultivators…”

“His limited experience would probably get him sold while he helps count the money. In the end, he’d definitely wind up dead without a burial place!”

These words made all three nod involuntarily.

The cultivation world wasn’t just the Qingxuan Holy Land. Within the sect, everyone gave him some leeway, but outside… there was no shortage of scheming, malicious individuals.

Gu Xiu hadn’t roamed the Jianghu for so long. Whether he had stepped back onto the cultivation path or not, the final outcome definitely wouldn’t be good!

Maybe right now, he had already been killed by someone.

…

Meanwhile, at the Tianqi Mountain Range, before the Wanbao Box.

Cen Chunshan smiled broadly and asked leisurely, “Fellow Daoist, the restrictions on this Wanbao Box should all be undone now?”

“They are undone,” Gu Xiu nodded.

Cen Chunshan asked again, “Oh? So that means it can be opened directly now to take what’s inside?”

“Of course!”

Gu Xiu nodded and opened the Wanbao Box. Inside lay three storage rings.

Seeing these rings, Cen Chunshan’s eyes burned with intense greed…

Snap!

But then the box closed shut again, which displeased Cen Chunshan somewhat. He turned his head and saw Gu Xiu looking at him with a smile.

“Fellow Daoist, since this Wanbao Box is now open, shouldn’t we proceed with the distribution according to our agreement?”

“How does Fellow Daoist wish to divide it?” Cen Chunshan wasn’t angered; instead, he smiled broadly as he asked.

“Didn’t we agree beforehand?” Gu Xiu said. “Me seven, you three.”

“The prior agreement is true indeed; there’s just one small issue,” Cen Chunshan said.

“Oh? What issue?”

“I think three parts is too little.”

Gu Xiu asked, “Then how many parts does Fellow Daoist wish to take?”

“I am at the ninth layer of Qi Refining; taking nine parts shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

Cen Chunshan’s aura surged explosively as he enunciated word by word, “Oh yes.”

“The last one part is for my younger brother.”

“As for yours…”

“You’ll have to go ask King Yama for it!”

With that said, Cen Chunshan had already finished gathering his power. Immediately after, he raised one palm and struck towards Gu Xiu’s face!

This palm strike was from a Qi Refining ninth-layer cultivator!

This palm strike could kill! It could sever souls!