Severing Ties: The Sect Regrets My Departure

Chapter 195: Blood Field, Life Sacrifice for Longevity

“I always assumed everyone in Awakening Spirit Valley was useless trash. I didn’t expect to find an exception.”

“At least you have some capability.”

Inside the private courtyard of the Azure Mystic disciple, the female cultivator looked at the vibrant, thriving spiritual herbs in her garden. Her expression, previously one of arrogant disdain—looking down her nose at the locals—had softened into a rare look of admiration.

She was very satisfied with this Awakening Spirit Valley disciple she had casually summoned for manual labor.

As Gu Xiu prepared to leave, she was unusually generous. She tossed him two Spirit Stones and a command token.

“Your surname is Chen, correct? Come back in two days. Bring this token, and no one will stop you. From now on, all the spiritual herbs in my courtyard are entrusted to your care.”

For a disciple of Awakening Spirit Valley, a request like this from an Azure Mystic envoy was a supreme honor. It meant contact with the higher-ups, a chance to climb the ladder, and perhaps—if one’s luck was heaven-defying—a spot in the Azure Mystic Sacred Land itself.

It was a leap from a lowly tenant farmer to a foreman with status.

A true Fated Chance.

As expected, the “Cultivator surnamed Chen” merely glanced at a specific spot in the courtyard before agreeing with a crisp nod.

Gu Xiu had no reason to refuse. He needed to come back here. If he didn’t… he wouldn’t be able to kill them all cleanly.

From the moment he arrived and saw the naive clarity in the eyes of those doomed mortal youths, Gu Xiu had added a new objective to his mission.

Eradicate this place.

He was not a bloodthirsty man. But his Wind Dao Heart required an unimpeded flow of thoughts. And right now, his thoughts regarding Awakening Spirit Valley were far from smooth.

Taking a deep look at the lofty residence, Gu Xiu turned and resumed his patrol of the valley.

With the Azure Mystic token in hand, his clearance level had skyrocketed. He breezed through areas previously sealed by heavy restrictions, searching for any sign of the Tantai Clan.

But after circling most of the valley, he found nothing. It was as if they didn’t exist.

Whenever he tried to fish for information, the answer was always the same: “That isn’t something we can ask about. Unless you want to become flower fertilizer, curb your curiosity.”

Even the Crossing Immortal Sword returned empty-handed.

“Master, I’ve searched everywhere,” the sword spirit reported. “Except for two areas.”

“The first is the Sect Main Hall. The Sect Leader is stationed there. Even though I am formless, a Nascent Soul expert might sense my fluctuations. I didn’t want to alert the enemy.”

“And the second area?”

“The Red Field in the east.”

“It’s covered in restrictions and a massive Formation. I can’t get in without triggering them.”

Gu Xiu turned his gaze toward the easternmost edge of Awakening Spirit Valley.

There lay a field, not particularly large, shrouded in layers of defensive arrays. Through the haze, one could vaguely see the soil was a deep, crimson red, like a sea of coagulated blood.

Gu Xiu had noted it before. It was heavily guarded. Even with the Azure Mystic token, he couldn’t enter without a direct order from the Sect Leader.

“It seems I have no choice but to go there,” Gu Xiu murmured. “You continue searching the perimeter. I’ll investigate the field.”

He prepared to send the sword away but stopped. “Where is Haiqi? Where did the monkey run off to?”

The Little Black Monkey had vanished the moment it was released. Through their spiritual bond, Gu Xiu knew it was alive and strangely hyperactive, but its location was a mystery.

Unexpectedly, the Crossing Immortal Sword dodged the question.

“Master, am I a good boy?”

Gu Xiu’s brow twitched. He glanced at the Carefree Jade Pendant hanging at his waist.

“Are you three plotting something?”

“Master, am I good?” the sword repeated, clearly having been coached.

Gu Xiu fought the urge to roll his eyes. He shook his head, deciding not to press further. As long as the monkey was safe, he didn’t care if they were planning some mischief. In fact, mischief might be helpful.

As if sensing his thoughts, his Storage Ring vibrated.

“Boss! Boss, let me out!” The Star Shattering Forging Platform’s voice clamored in his mind. “I’m suffocating in here! I just want to stretch my legs! I promise I just want to take a stroll, no funny business! Really!”

Gu Xiu wasn’t a fool. “No funny business” coming from this artifact usually meant arson.

But he didn’t refuse. With a wave of his hand, he released the Star Shattering Forging Platform into the shadows.

He didn’t plan on doing anything good in Awakening Spirit Valley. having a few troublemakers on the loose was exactly what he needed.

“And you?” Gu Xiu looked down at the Carefree Jade Pendant. “They’re all gone. If you want to join the chaos, go now.”

To his relief, the pendant replied dutifully, “Little Xiaoyao’s task is to protect Master!”

For a second, Gu Xiu felt a warm fuzziness, like wearing a comfortable cotton jacket.

Then the pendant added, “Besides, Little Xiaoyao planned the tactics. My little brothers will execute them perfectly. I just need to protect Master and secure victory from a thousand miles away.”

Gu Xiu fell silent.

He turned and headed straight for the Blood Field.

When he arrived, a crowd of Awakening Spirit Valley disciples had already gathered. They were lining up to enter the formation, their faces pale and filled with tension.

“The Sect Leader wouldn’t want us to go in for a life sacrifice, would he?”

“They said it’s just to clean up the Blood Field. We are elite disciples, not fertilizer. Why would they sacrifice us?”

“I don’t know… the atmosphere today feels wrong.”

“Right or wrong, we have no choice. Orders are orders.”

The whispers were faint, but Gu Xiu’s senses caught every word. He clicked his tongue in amazement.

Suddenly, the Carefree Jade Pendant vibrated again. “Master! Master! There’s good stuff inside! Little Xiaoyao senses it—a heaven-sent Fated Chance!”

Gu Xiu didn’t need the reminder. He felt it too.

As the disciples entered one by one, the restriction array cracked open slightly. Through that fissure, a wave of extremely dense, concentrated life force washed over him.

Inside that field were longevity-extending spiritual herbs. And all of them had been force-grown using “special means.”

Just then, someone in the crowd spotted him.

“Oh? Isn’t this Senior Brother Chen?”

A disciple with a narrow face sneered, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “I heard you gained the favor of that Fairy from Azure Mystic. You’ve climbed to a high branch, haven’t you? What are you doing here? Trying to show off? Want to contribute to the Sect so you can soar to great heights?”

Gu Xiu didn’t know this person, but the animosity was clear. “Senior Brother Chen” evidently had enemies.

Perfect.

Gu Xiu straightened his back, his expression shifting to one of righteous solemnity.

“For the Sect, duty calls!” he declared loudly. “I dare not think of soaring to great heights. I only hope to enter and contribute my modest effort to the Sect’s prosperity!”

Silence fell over the crowd.

The disciples looked at him as if he were a ghost. Everyone knew the Blood Field was a hellish place; usually, people avoided it like the plague. Yet here was this fool, volunteering?

“You… you want to go in?” the mocking disciple stammered.

“I am duty-bound,” Gu Xiu said firmly.

Immediately, a disciple near the front of the line grabbed Gu Xiu’s arm. “Senior Brother Chen! Please, take my spot! Here, take my Spirit Stones—my entire savings! Just take my place!”

The exchange happened in plain sight. Even the Elder guarding the formation turned a blind eye. To the Sect, it didn’t matter who went in, as long as the head count was correct.

And so, Gu Xiu openly joined the line and walked into the Blood Field.

From the outside, it looked like a terrifying crimson haze.

But inside…

The soil was indeed red, saturated and glistening like a pool of fresh blood. Yet, growing from this gore were spiritual herbs of breathtaking beauty. Each plant was vibrant, their flowers blooming with colors so vivid they seemed to glow.

The air was thick with life force. Just taking a single breath gave the illusion that one’s lifespan was increasing.

No. It wasn’t an illusion. It was real.

Gu Xiu recognized the plants immediately.

“Longevity Flower.”

“Life-Benefiting Grass.”

“Jade Longevity Fruit.”

His eyes narrowed. “Xu Wanqing… you truly have remarkable methods. To think you could artificially cultivate such rare treasures.”

Longevity herbs were scarce because they could not be rushed. They required eons of natural growth. A single pill that extended life by even a year could fetch an astronomical price.

But here, they grew like weeds.

Gu Xiu knelt and touched the soil. It was sticky.

“Using human essence and blood as a guide. Using the life source of cultivators as fertilizer. Utilizing a special Formation and this cursed soil to refine everyone who dies here, feeding their stolen time back into the herbs…”

He stood up, his gaze cold.

“Xu Wanqing, oh Xu Wanqing. You merciful Bodhisattva who relieves suffering. If I hadn’t seen this with my own eyes, who would believe it?”

“You built a living hell right under the world’s nose.”

The more vibrant the herbs, the more people had died. Judging by the maturity of these plants, this slaughter had been going on for decades, perhaps a century.

Thousands? No.

Hundreds of thousands. Perhaps even millions of lives had perished in this soil to feed her ambition.

It was a staggering atrocity.

Gu Xiu realized now that the other herb fields in the valley were just decoys. This—this blood-soaked farm—was Xu Wanqing’s true goal.

He took a deep breath of the metallic, sweet air.

From the moment he stepped into this field, the verdict was sealed.

Xu Wanqing’s hundred-year plan was destined to fail.