Severing Ties: The Sect Regrets My Departure

Chapter 183: This Life Without Regret, Smiling at Life and Death

My methods are extremely subtle. No matter how powerful the owner of this item is, it will be difficult for them to detect this funnel. And even if they do discover it, your Providence is so overwhelming that the funnel is reinforced by your own power. The owner won’t be able to repair it at all.

Think of it this way: I’ve found you a helper who works diligently and tirelessly, gathering wild Providence from all over the world for you, completely free of charge.

The Star Shattering Forging Platform was practically glowing with smugness, though the effort of creating the Ruyi Funnel had clearly drained a significant amount of its energy. After bragging for a while, it allowed Gu Xiu to sweep it back into his Storage Ring.

However, right before vanishing, the platform offered one last piece of advice:

I’ve borrowed the power of the Green Bamboo Rod to keep this broken Ruyi suppressed for a few more days. You don’t need to worry about it. Let the owner of this trash lose sleep and appetite for a while, hehehe.

With that wicked cackle, Star Shattering finally disappeared into the ring.

Gu Xiu stood in silence for a moment, withdrawing his gaze from where the Heaven-Bestowed Ruyi had been. He turned, collected every item remaining on the weapon rack, and strode toward the exit.

The business in the mine ruins was finished. Staying any longer was pointless. Now, he had only one objective remaining.

Become stronger.

Providence, the Heaven-Bestowed Ruyi, the hidden mastermind interfering with the Green Bamboo Rod… Gu Xiu did not let these worries weigh him down. He simply etched them into his memory. Since his trip to Falling Rain Valley, he had felt as though he were entangled in a vast, invisible web.

His current strength was insufficient to see the whole picture.

If that was the case, he would simply walk his path.

Only by becoming strong enough could he tear through the veil, shatter the overwhelming grand scheme, and cut down… the person pulling the strings.

Walking out of the depths, Gu Xiu felt a flicker of confusion. The mine ruins, usually bustling with activity, were completely deserted. He walked all the way to the surface without seeing a single soul.

He didn’t know that Jiang Xun had already arrived and stripped the place bare, or that the Bibo Sect had abandoned hope for this location and was currently on high alert, preparing for the Cold Dew Day.

Gu Xiu simply sent a message to Lu Dongshan, informing him of his success.

Just as he was about to exit the cave mouth, a startled cry rang out.

Huh? You… you’re really still alive!

It was Yu Xueqing.

Tear stains still marked her face, evidence of a recent breakdown. But the moment she saw Gu Xiu, her expression shifted to one of sheer disbelief and joy. She had been unwilling to accept her Master’s death, clinging to a sliver of hope against all reason.

Gu Xiu nodded calmly and held out a Storage Ring.

This is…?

The Profound Yin Soul-Protecting Pill.

What? Yu Xueqing gasped, her hands trembling as she pulled a pill bottle from the ring.

One glance was all it took. She wept tears of joy.

It was real!

This was a genuine Profound Yin Soul-Protecting Pill!

Her Master was saved!

Overwhelmed with gratitude, Yu Xueqing clutched the pill and bent her knees, preparing to kowtow to Gu Xiu. The grace of saving her Master was worth any dignity.

But she couldn’t kneel. Gu Xiu caught her arm, gently stopping her.

There is no need for that, he said, shaking his head. Your Master is Leng Mingyu… then Fairy Ruyue must be your Martial Aunt, correct?

Yes. Yu Xueqing was confused by the sudden change in topic but answered respectfully. Master only had one Senior Sister. She was the Eldest Senior Sister of the Bibo Sect back then. However… Martial Aunt Ruyue passed away 500 years ago.

Can I ask you for a favor?

Benefactor, please speak!

Do not reveal this pill until after I have left. Before I go, I would like to trouble you to take me to pay my respects to Fairy Ruyue.

The request made Yu Xueqing freeze.

She looked at Gu Xiu with astonishment.

Martial Aunt Ruyue was a figure from a bygone era, long dead before Yu Xueqing was even born. She only knew of her through stories.

She knew her Martial Aunt had been a peerless genius. Even her Master, the current Sect Leader, spoke of her with deep emotion, admitting that if Senior Sister hadn’t died, the position of Sect Leader would never have been hers.

But that was 500 years ago.

Few outsiders mentioned her anymore, and certainly, no one ever came to visit her grave. Why would this stranger, who had just risked his life to save the sect, ask to visit a forgotten tomb?

If Benefactor wishes to pay respects to a Senior of the sect, Xueqing will take you there immediately.

Despite her confusion, she agreed. It was a simple request.

With the Elders sequestered in a secret meeting called by Leng Mingshu, Yu Xueqing moved unimpeded through the sect. A few disciples cast curious glances at the man walking beside her, but no one dared to question them.

Soon, they arrived at the cemetery in the back mountains.

Yu Xueqing did not lead him to the central mausoleum where the sect’s core members rested. Instead, she guided him to the very edge of the grounds, to a solitary grave facing the Southwest.

This is Martial Aunt Ruyue’s grave, Yu Xueqing said softly. It is said she chose this spot herself, though no one knows why.

Gu Xiu nodded. He turned his head, gazing toward the Southwest.

In that direction lay the Azure Mystic Sacred Land.

He turned back to the tombstone. Beneath the large characters reading Grave of Ruyue, a short poem was carved into the stone.

Love runs deep, yet fate runs shallow, dreams remain undone, Chasing wind and pursuing shadows, feelings linger on. Mortal love must scatter, like dust upon the wind, I hate not your heart of iron, nor the will within. If you grace my grave with but a single glance, This life holds no regrets, no sorrow in the chance. Joy remains within my heart, as on the day we met, Smiling at both life and death, with nothing to regret.

Reading the verses, Gu Xiu stood silently before the stone, his hands hanging by his sides.

He stood there for a long time.

Finally, he bent down. Squatting beside the mound, he began to clear the weeds with his bare hands.

He worked with meticulous care, using no Qi, no arts. He was like a mortal cleaning the grave of an old friend, or perhaps a husband grooming the hair of a wife who had waited too long.

From beginning to end, he said nothing. The silence was absolute.

Yu Xueqing watched him, confused. Yet, seeing his back, she felt an inexplicable tightness in her chest.

A memory surfaced—a conversation she once had with her Master.

Master, how did Martial Aunt Ruyue die?

She disobeyed orders to participate in a fierce battle that the entire Bibo Sect shunned. When she returned, her Origin Source was shattered, her vitality spent. She died three months later.

Who killed her? Why didn’t we seek revenge?

The enemy was too strong. The Bibo Sect could not take revenge. Besides… it was her own choice. She didn’t want us to avenge her.

Imagine returning home only to wait for death for three months… She must have been devastated.

You are wrong.

Ah?

After she returned, she chose this grave and carved this stone. She worried constantly for the one whose fate was unknown, but she was never sad about her own death.

She worried for someone else?

Perhaps.

Who was it?

A man who was heartless, yet respectable and lamentable.

Master, you don’t seem to hate him?

As a Junior Sister, I hated him to the bone. But as a Cultivator, I can only admire him.

Why?

Because they were both wrong, and yet… neither of them was wrong.

Back then, Yu Xueqing had listened with the ignorance of youth. Even now, she didn’t fully understand.

But looking at Gu Xiu’s back as he placed a plate of Hundred Flowers Cake and a pot of clear wine before the grave, she felt a sudden flicker of enlightenment.

It was there, just out of reach.

I should go.

Gu Xiu’s voice broke the silence. Yu Xueqing looked up, realizing he wasn’t speaking to her, but to the grave.

A gentle breeze swept past them.

For a split second, Yu Xueqing thought she saw a woman in a white dress standing by the headstone. She was beautiful, her smile gentle and graceful, waving goodbye to the man.

When the breeze passed, the figure vanished like an illusion.

Gu Xiu turned and walked away.

His steps were slow. He seemed on the verge of looking back several times, but in the end, he kept his eyes forward.

A moment later, the Soul Formation expert Lu Dongshan appeared. He swept Gu Xiu up in a streak of light, disappearing into the horizon.

Yu Xueqing looked back at the tombstone, her eyes lingering on the line: This life without regret or remorse.

Her emotions were a tangled mess she couldn’t unravel.

Xueqing, why are you here?

A surprised voice interrupted her thoughts. Yu Xueqing turned and immediately bowed.

Xueqing pays respects to Martial Aunt!

It was Leng Mingshu, the Deputy Sect Leader. She frowned, clearly puzzled to find her disciple at this forgotten grave.

It’s like this… Yu Xueqing didn’t hesitate, explaining everything that had happened.

As she listened, Leng Mingshu’s eyes widened in shock.

When Yu Xueqing produced the real Profound Yin Soul-Protecting Pill from the ring, Leng Mingshu lost her composure entirely.

Where did he go? Where is he?!

He just left with Senior Lu Dongshan on a flying boat.

Lu Dongshan?

Leng Mingshu’s mind raced. She recalled the disciple Lu Dongshan had brought earlier. At the time, she hadn’t thought much of it. But now, piecing it together…

That temperament… it was so similar to the man from 500 years ago!

Was it him?

Did he really abandon Azure Mystic? Was it not a ruse?

And he came secretly to the Bibo Sect?!

Without waiting for another word, Leng Mingshu launched herself into the sky, chasing the direction Lu Dongshan had fled.

But it was futile.

Moments later, she returned, defeated. Lu Dongshan had used the Deceiving the Heavens to Cross the Sea technique. There was no trace of them.

She landed in front of a confused Yu Xueqing, her expression deadly serious.

Tell me everything. Every detail of your meeting with that person!

His appearance, his cultivation level, everything!

What he said, what he did. Do not omit a single syllable!

Yu Xueqing was stunned by the intensity.

Leng Mingshu grabbed her shoulders, her voice trembling with urgency.

This person’s actions… concern the very survival of the Bibo Sect!

While Leng Mingshu desperately tried to glean the truth from clues, far away in the secret room of the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion in Cloud Firmament City.

Pavilion Master Wan Xiaobei stared at the Shadow kneeling before her.

Are you sure…

Immortal Venerable Gu Xiu has abandoned Azure Mystic?