Severing Ties: The Sect Regrets My Departure

Chapter 186: You Came Here to Kill Me?

Jiang Xun’s request made Yuchi Chunlei, who had been lost in her own thoughts just moments before, freeze in place.

“Little Junior Brother, you… what did you say?”

“I want to ask Second Senior Sister to help me forge a Dharma Treasure,” Jiang Xun said with a warm, trusting smile. “Second Senior Sister wouldn’t refuse to help me, would you?”

“Of course not!” Yuchi Chunlei shook her head vigorously.

All those chaotic, doubting thoughts from earlier were instantly cast to the winds. Little Junior Brother’s words meant one thing: He still believed in her abilities!

But before she could celebrate, a sharp voice cut in.

“No! Absolutely not!”

Lu Qingyao stepped forward, her face flushed with agitation. “Junior Brother, are you confused? How can you let her forge a Dharma Treasure for you? Aren’t you afraid she’ll harm you again?”

The words were like a slap in the face. Yuchi Chunlei stiffened, her expression crumbling into grievance.

“Little Junior Sister, you… how can you say that? How could Senior Sister possibly want to harm Little Junior Brother?”

“Why can’t we doubt you? Do you think your track record isn’t suspicious enough?” Lu Qingyao looked at her with undisguised disgust. “Tell us yourself—why is it that both times you forged a sword for Little Junior Brother, disaster struck?”

“I… this… I don’t know either…”

“You don’t know? You are a Grandmaster of Forging! You have never failed when crafting artifacts for anyone else. Why is it that you only fail when it comes to Little Junior Brother?”

“This…”

“Failing is one thing, but why did both failures result in physical injury to him?”

“I… I really don’t know!” Yuchi Chunlei panicked. She desperately wanted to defend herself, but she had always been clumsy with words. Under the sharp, eloquent interrogation of Lu Qingyao, she stammered helplessly, unable to form a coherent explanation.

In truth, even she didn’t understand why the heavens seemed to target her creations whenever they were for Jiang Xun.

Seeing the argument escalating, Jiang Xun stepped in to mediate.

“Seventh Senior Sister, thank you for your concern, but I am willing to believe in Second Senior Sister.”

“Little Junior Brother, you…” Lu Qingyao tried to argue.

Jiang Xun shook his head gently. “Seventh Senior Sister, Master has always taught us that the Azure Mystic Sacred Land stands tall because we are united. As the saying goes, when two are of one mind, their strength can cut through metal.”

He turned his gaze to Yuchi Chunlei, his eyes shining with apparent sincerity.

“Although there were accidents in the past, I believe with all my heart that Second Senior Sister would never intentionally harm me.”

“I choose to trust her.”

“Trust her? The first time, you were injured physically. The second time, your very soul was damaged! If there’s a third time, aren’t you afraid of being crippled?” Lu Qingyao snapped, clearly dissatisfied.

“If that truly happens, then I will accept my fate,” Jiang Xun said with a carefree, heroic smile. “I believe Second Senior Sister will protect me. Isn’t that right, Senior Sister?”

Yuchi Chunlei trembled.

Jiang Xun was impeccable. In the past, such a display of unconditional trust would have moved her to tears. Even now, with his face battered and bandaged, the sentiment struck a chord deep within her.

Shame washed over her. She lowered her head, afraid to meet his gaze, and stammered for a long while before finally finding her voice.

“Little Junior Brother, don’t worry. This time… Senior Sister will definitely succeed!”

“With Senior Sister’s word, that is enough!”

Jiang Xun laughed. To demonstrate his absolute trust, he waved his hand, dumping the entire contents of his harvest from the Bibo Sect onto the ground.

Clatter!

A mountain of gleaming ores and spiritual materials piled up.

As soon as these items appeared, the atmosphere shifted. Even Shi Siling, the strongest and most silent of the group, couldn’t hide her astonishment.

“These are all Top Grade materials!”

“Little Junior Brother, your Fated Chance this time is simply defying the heavens! Many of these are priceless treasures that can’t even be bought on the market!”

“With these, forging a Heaven-Rank Divine Sword wouldn’t be a problem. Some of these ores… even our Sect doesn’t have in stock!”

The sisters exclaimed in wonder. Although Azure Mystic was a Sacred Land with vast resources, true peerless treasures were always scarce. Yet here was Jiang Xun, casually tossing them out like common stones.

His trip to the Bibo Sect had truly been a bountiful return.

Yuchi Chunlei’s eyes widened, filled with a mix of shock and delight. “Little Junior Brother… so many materials… do you really trust Senior Sister with all of this?”

“Of course!” Jiang Xun beamed. “Senior Sister used up her own materials for me twice before. Consider these yours to use freely. If there are any leftovers, keep them as a gift!”

“No, no! These are yours! How can I take your things?” Yuchi Chunlei refused frantically. After a stalemate, she raised her hand, her face solemn. “Little Junior Brother, I swear to the Heavens! This time, I will forge a Peerless Divine Sword for you!”

“If I violate this oath, may Heaven strike me with light—”

“Senior Sister, stop!”

Jiang Xun cut her off just in time. “Senior Sister, this time… I don’t want a sword.”

“Ah? You don’t want a sword?”

“No.” Jiang Xun nodded, his expression turning serious. “This time, I need Senior Sister to help me forge something else.”

He pulled a jade slip from his sleeve and handed it to her.

Yuchi Chunlei scanned the contents with her spiritual sense. Her brow furrowed in confusion. “Little Junior Brother, is this… armor? No, the structure is strange. It doesn’t look like ordinary defensive gear. What does it do?”

“I have been plagued by misfortune recently,” Jiang Xun lied without blinking. “I need more means to protect myself.”

Seeing that she was about to ask technical questions, he quickly added, “Senior Sister, I only hope you can follow the instructions exactly. The materials are sufficient. Please, forge it as soon as possible.”

Seeing his insistence, Yuchi Chunlei suppressed her curiosity. Regardless of the item’s odd function, Little Junior Brother trusted her. That was all that mattered.

“Leave it to me!”

Yuchi Chunlei grabbed the materials and hurried away, eager to redeem herself. This was her battle for vindication. She could not afford another failure.

Once she was gone, Lu Qingyao sighed. “Little Junior Brother, you are too kind-hearted. With her track record, you should be more vigilant. How could you just let her take everything?”

“Second Senior Sister has been acting strange lately,” Shi Siling added. “I don’t think she has ill intentions, but her competence is questionable. You should have kept a backup plan.”

Jiang Xun smiled, soothing them with gentle words until they finally relented.

But internally, his smile was cold.

If anyone distrusted Yuchi Chunlei, it was him. But he had no choice. The item he needed to forge—a countermeasure to his draining Providence—was no ordinary artifact.

It required a Grandmaster of Forging.

More importantly, the forging process described in the ancient text was dangerous. It would inflict backlash and harm upon the blacksmith. Unless the forger was willing to disregard their own safety and possessed a will of iron (or sheer stupidity), the artifact would never form.

After much thought, only Yuchi Chunlei—that trusting, useful fool—fit the criteria.

I just hope, Jiang Xun thought darkly, that this useless Senior Sister doesn’t drag me down again.

Half a day later, on Jade Pill Peak.

Jiang Xun, his face completely wrapped in bandages, stood before Xu Wanqing with an air of deep apology.

“Third Senior Sister, I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” Xu Wanqing paused in her work. “Why is Junior Brother apologizing?”

Jiang Xun let out a long, melancholy sigh. “Actually, the primary reason I left the sect was to find rare spiritual herbs for you. I know Jade Pill Peak has been struggling since the Thunder Penalty destroyed the gardens.”

He lowered his head. “It is a pity… my abilities were insufficient. I failed to bring you any gifts.”

Xu Wanqing’s heart melted instantly.

Little Junior Brother… he really cares about me.

He had risked the dangers of the outside world just to help her replenish her herb garden. The thought filled her with a warm, aching sweetness.

“Little Junior Brother, don’t speak such nonsense. The fact that you returned safely is the greatest gift of all. You need to rest and recover. Do not let your thoughts wander.”

She comforted him gently, her voice soft as spring water.

But the moment she stepped out of his room, the tenderness vanished from her face, replaced by a chilling frost.

She kicked off the ground, soaring into the air and heading straight for Reflection Cliff.

Reflection Cliff, the Hall of Punishment.

“Greetings, Peak Master Xu!”

The disciples on guard bowed hastily as Xu Wanqing descended. She barely acknowledged them with a nod.

“How is Pavilion Master Nian?”

“We are strictly following the Sect Leader’s orders,” a disciple reported, his voice trembling slightly. “Every half hour, we rotate the arrays: Soul-Burning, Bone-Breaking, Tendon-Severing, Flesh-Carving… The cycle never stops.”

The disciples looked terrified. The torture arrays of Reflection Cliff were designed to make prisoners beg for death, yet be denied it. Usually, one array was enough to break a cultivator. Rotating through all of them every thirty minutes was unheard of.

And the victim was a Supreme’s Direct Disciple.

This was only the second time in Azure Mystic history that a Direct Disciple had suffered such a fate. Nian Zhaoxi had already endured longer than the “Useless Martial Uncle” from five hundred years ago.

Hearing the report, a flash of pain crossed Xu Wanqing’s eyes.

“My Senior Sister has made mistakes, but she is still the Eldest Disciple of Azure Mystic. Although the torture is unavoidable, you should try to be… accommodating. Do you understand?”

“This…” The disciples hesitated.

Xu Wanqing flicked her wrist, tossing several bottles of high-grade pills to them. “You know what to do.”

The disciples caught the bottles, bowing deeply. “We understand! We will do our best to look after her.”

They watched her walk past, sighing in admiration. Third Martial Aunt really is the kindest person in the sect.

Xu Wanqing ignored their praise. She passed through the layers of restrictive barriers and ascended to the highest point of Reflection Cliff.

There, she saw the figure chained to the rock face.

Nian Zhaoxi.

The once-radiant Pavilion Master of the Heaven-Asking Pavilion was now a ruin of a woman. The ceaseless torture had left her skin paper-white, her aura as faint as a dying candle flame.

Seeing her state, Xu Wanqing rushed forward. She forced several healing pills into Nian Zhaoxi’s mouth and channeled her own Spiritual Qi to stabilize her injuries.

When Nian Zhaoxi’s eyelids fluttered open, Xu Wanqing spoke, her voice filled with sorrow. “Eldest Senior Sister!”

Ptoo!

Nian Zhaoxi spat out the pills without hesitation.

Despite the agony racking her body, her eyes remained calm, possessing a terrifying tranquility.

“Eldest Senior Sister, why must you suffer like this?” Xu Wanqing sighed, wiping the spittle from her sleeve.

“Suffer?” Nian Zhaoxi shook her head weakly. “I don’t think so.”

“You are the Eldest Disciple, the Master of the Heaven-Asking Pavilion. This torture… it shouldn’t be your fate.”

Nian Zhaoxi looked past her, staring at the empty sky. “Five hundred years ago, when Gu Xiu bound himself in the Forbidden Realm… was it right that he should suffer so much upon his return?”

“You… Senior Sister, why are you still thinking about him?!”

“I dare not forget.”

“But he is different from you!”

“Indeed. He is different.” Nian Zhaoxi nodded slowly. “The suffering I endure now is but the tip of the iceberg compared to the three years Gu Xiu suffered after his return. What right do I have to compare myself to him?”

“You… you’ve truly gone mad!” Xu Wanqing gritted her teeth.

But seeing Nian Zhaoxi’s unwavering expression, Xu Wanqing’s mask of pity slipped. Her voice turned cold.

“Junior Brother Jiang went to the Bibo Sect. He obtained a Fated Chance that defies the heavens.”

Nian Zhaoxi remained unmoved.

“Speaking of Bibo Sect… do you know of Fairy Ruyue? She has been dead for five hundred years.”

Nian Zhaoxi frowned slightly.

Xu Wanqing stepped closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Senior Sister, do you also wish to become the next Fairy Ruyue? Like a moth throwing itself into the fire, dying for a man who isn’t worth it?”

This time, Nian Zhaoxi finally turned her gaze to look directly at Xu Wanqing.

There was no anger in her eyes. Only a faint, cutting mockery.

“So, you came here…”

“To kill me?”