Severing Ties: The Sect Regrets My Departure

Chapter 182: Providence Dao Treasure, Ruyi Funnel!

“Eh? Eh? Eh? You actually fished up a Jade Ruyi?”

“Impressive! This is an Immortal Artifact! And… it doesn’t feel like just any ordinary Immortal Artifact. It feels a bit like… like…”

“I can’t put my finger on it, but this is definitely top-tier loot!”

The moment the Green Bamboo Rod successfully hooked its prize, the Star Shattering Forging Platform—living up to its reputation as a chatterbox—immediately rushed over. It hopped up and down around the glowing object, muttering incessantly.

The object was the Heaven-Bestowed Ruyi.

As Jiang Xun’s Companion Dharma Treasure, Gu Xiu recognized it instantly. In the vision of “One Glance, Ten Thousand Years,” he had seen Jiang Xun wield this artifact countless times.

He just never expected to fish it up himself.

However, upon seeing the Heaven-Bestowed Ruyi, Gu Xiu did not step forward to claim it. He didn’t even reach out his hand.

On the contrary.

The moment he identified the artifact, Gu Xiu’s expression darkened. He kicked off the ground, his figure blurring as he retreated rapidly to put distance between himself and the prize.

It wasn’t cowardice. It was caution.

Jiang Xun had always been shrouded in a dense mist of mystery. Even within the dream vision, Gu Xiu had never truly seen the man clearly. For such a person’s core artifact to be suddenly hooked—replacing the original target mid-cast—screamed of a trap.

But the main reason for his retreat came from within.

The Dao Platform in his Dantian Qi Sea had suddenly begun to vibrate. The Immortal Gate Dao Platform, in particular, was reacting with violent intensity.

These anomalies were enough for Gu Xiu to withdraw without hesitation.

His instincts proved correct.

The instant Gu Xiu retreated, the Heaven-Bestowed Ruyi erupted with a blinding green radiance. A beam of light shot toward the exact spot where he had been standing a split second ago.

The beam contained a terrifying power that made the soul tremble.

Having missed its first strike, the Ruyi hovered in the air, realigning itself toward Gu Xiu for a second attack.

But it wouldn’t get the chance.

Before it could fire, a chessboard flew out from Gu Xiu’s Dantian, expanding instantly to envelop the artifact.

Crisscrossing black lines formed a grid in the air, erupting with streaks of golden light. The Tianyuan and Star Platform positions on the board surged with esoteric power.

This was the technique left behind by the Azure Fall Supreme.

Concealing Immortals!

As the Concealing Immortals Chessboard locked the space, the Green Bamboo Rod in Gu Xiu’s hand, which he had not yet retracted, suddenly leaped from his grasp.

It whipped down fiercely toward the Heaven-Bestowed Ruyi.

Smack!

A sonic boom shattered the air. The Ruyi, which had been preparing to break out of the chessboard’s suppression, began to tremble violently.

It was as if it were suffering unimaginable torture. Vaguely, Gu Xiu could hear a shrill, pained wail echoing from the artifact—a sound that seemed both infinitely far away and right beside his ear.

The reversal was instantaneous.

By the time Gu Xiu and the Star Shattering Forging Platform focused their gaze, a glowing green whip mark had appeared on the white jade surface of the Ruyi. It was now firmly pinned within the chessboard’s grid.

“Hey! You’ve got some nerve!”

The Star Shattering Forging Platform zipped over to the trapped artifact, cursing loudly. “Daring to borrow a Heavenly Dao Divine Object to scheme against the Master chosen by me, Star Shattering? Which bastard are you? Have the guts to come out!”

“Did you not ask around? Do you not know what kind of existence I am?! Offend me, and you won’t be able to survive in the Dharma Treasure world anymore!”

Despite being a forging platform, the spirit manifested two cartoonish hands, placing them on its “hips” as it pointed and scolded the Ruyi. The sight was so absurdly comical it was hard not to laugh.

Gu Xiu, however, focused on the implications of its words. “Boss, you’ve definitely been targeted by some existence!”

“Targeted?” Gu Xiu raised an eyebrow, glancing at the immobilized Ruyi. “You mean my fishing this up was an intentional interference?”

“Absolutely!” The Forging Platform affirmed. “I can sense the Concealing Immortal ability on you. It hides your traces and shields you from heavenly secrets.”

“Some Supreme Existence wants to find you but can’t locate you, so they utilized a Great Dao Divine Object to bridge the gap…”

Gu Xiu understood immediately.

A powerful entity was hunting him. Because of the Azure Fall Supreme’s gift, this entity couldn’t pinpoint his location. So, they forced an interaction—deliberately letting him fish up the Heaven-Bestowed Ruyi.

The goal was to establish a karmic link and break his concealment.

“That person is not simple. To scheme using a Great Dao Divine Object… such an existence shouldn’t be in this realm,” the Forging Platform said, its tone turning serious. “It could be an Immortal from the Upper Realm!”

Upper Realm Immortal?

Gu Xiu frowned. The Azure Fall Supreme’s words echoed in his mind. Concealing Immortals. Treading Immortals. She had hinted that something behind the Immortal Gate was watching him.

Was her gift meant to hide him from this specific entity?

And who was it? Jiang Xun? Or someone standing behind Jiang Xun?

Gu Xiu narrowed his eyes, deep in thought.

Smack!

Another crisp sound snapped him back to reality. The trapped Heaven-Bestowed Ruyi was struggling again, vibrating as its distant master tried to recall it. But its resistance only earned it another ruthless lash from the Green Bamboo Rod.

Gu Xiu looked at his rod with new appreciation. For three years, he had used it as a glorified stick to herd ducks. He hadn’t realized it possessed such tyrannical power.

“I remember now! This Jade Ruyi isn’t just an Immortal Artifact!” the Forging Platform suddenly exclaimed. “It’s a Providence Dao Treasure!”

“Providence Dao Treasure?” Gu Xiu asked. “You know about Providence?”

“Of course I know!”

“What is it?”

“That, I don’t know.”

Gu Xiu stared at it.

The Forging Platform shook its body. “Look, I only know that when Heaven and Earth were first created, all things had a source. Providence is the most mysterious and unpredictable of them all—something countless Immortals and Deities fight over. The specifics are beyond me.”

Gu Xiu thought back to his 500 years in the Forbidden Realm.

“Although I can’t explain what Providence is, this Ruyi is definitely a treasure made of it. It uses Providence as power and sucks it dry from others,” the spirit explained. “Even though the Green Bamboo Rod is powerful, it can’t destroy a Providence Dao Treasure. We can trap it, but we can’t erase it.”

“The entity on the other side knows their scheme failed. They are trying to recall the Ruyi now.”

The Forging Platform didn’t sound worried. In fact, its manifested hands were frantically pointing at itself, practically begging for attention.

Ask me! I have a plan! Ask me!

Gu Xiu suppressed a smile. “Do you have a solution?”

“Naturally!”

The Forging Platform preened. “Who am I? I am Star Shattering, a Titan of the Dharma Treasure world! Do you understand my gold content?”

It chuckled, a sound that was distinctly sly. “That Supreme Existence has skills, but they underestimated the Concealing Immortal power, they underestimated the Green Bamboo Rod, and they severely underestimated your own Providence. This broken Ruyi didn’t break your concealment—it delivered itself right into the tiger’s mouth!”

“We can’t destroy it, but that doesn’t mean we can’t… tamper with it.”

The Forging Platform zipped over to the Green Bamboo Rod and whispered something via spirit transmission.

Gu Xiu couldn’t hear the plan, but he saw the Green Bamboo Rod silently shift to the side. The Forging Platform stealthily crept into the chessboard array, sneaking behind the Jade Ruyi.

Suddenly, the Green Bamboo Rod surged with light and whipped the Ruyi again.

Smack!

The Ruyi shuddered violently from the blow.

At that exact moment of vulnerability, the Forging Platform clasped its hands together, forming a sharp spiritual spike. With a wretched cackle, it thrust the spike viciously into the “rear” of the Ruyi.

“Secret Art: Star Shattering Millennium Kill!!!”

The Heaven-Bestowed Ruyi went rigid. Then, it leaped into the air, nearly breaking free of the chessboard’s suppression in sheer shock and pain.

But the chessboard and the rod slammed it back down.

Gu Xiu watched, his expression turning strange. A tiny, hairline crack had appeared on the back end of the Ruyi.

“Quick! Boss! Stab it in the butt!” the Forging Platform screamed. “Use your sword! Hit it hard!”

The butt…

Gu Xiu forced himself to ignore the phrasing. He drew the Shadow Chasing Sword, his gaze sharpening into cold steel.

He didn’t know exactly what the spirit was doing, but he understood one thing: If the Green Bamboo Rod couldn’t destroy this thing, he needed to put everything he had into this strike.

He raised his sword. The air around him seemed to freeze. Time slowed.

Gu Xiu thrust the blade forward.

There was no wind. No waves. No ripples.

No dazzling light, no screaming Spiritual Qi, not even the glint of metal.

It looked like a child playfully thrusting a wooden stick.

But this seemingly ordinary strike caused the Heaven-Bestowed Ruyi to thrash in panic. It sensed the threat. It tried to flee. But held down by the rod and the board, it could only watch the tip of the sword approach.

Pfft!

The moment the sword connected, a terrifying ocean of Spiritual Qi erupted from the point of impact!

Gu Xiu had emptied his reserves. The vast Qi Sea within his Dantian was drained in a single instant.

The Heaven-Bestowed Ruyi stopped moving. Spiderweb cracks spread across its surface, threatening to shatter it completely.

“You… that was Foundation Establishment power???” The Forging Platform was stunned, but it quickly recovered, its hands slapping frantically against the Ruyi’s surface, injecting streams of starlight into the cracks.

Finally.

After nearly half an hour of work, the Star Shattering Forging Platform drifted back. It looked exhausted but ecstatic.

“Hahahaha! Success! We did it!”

“What did you do?” Gu Xiu asked, sheathing his sword.

The Heaven-Bestowed Ruyi looked unchanged. The cracks had healed completely. It hovered there, pristine and glowing.

Or rather… not entirely unchanged.

Gu Xiu felt a subtle flow coming from the artifact, an invisible stream of energy drifting toward him.

“This is a Providence Dao Treasure, designed to collect luck and sever karma for its master,” the Forging Platform explained with a wicked grin. “I just installed a funnel on it.”

“A funnel?”

“Yep. All its abilities work as normal. Its owner will still use it to gather Providence. But from today on…”

“The Providence it collects will silently leak out the back.”

“Don’t doubt it.”

“The end of that funnel… is you!”