Severing Ties: The Sect Regrets My Departure

Chapter 189: The Crossing Immortal Strikes! A Crippling Blow to Jiang Xun!

Azure Mystic Sacred Land, Jade Pill Peak.

Jiang Xun sat before a bronze mirror, his hands trembling slightly. He held his breath as he peeled away the medicinal bandages on his face, inch by agonizing inch.

Standing beside him, Xu Wanqing smiled gently.

“Junior Brother, have faith,” she soothed. “Your injuries were severe, and the strange power lingering in the wounds made regeneration difficult. However, your Senior Sister might not dare claim the title of number one healer in the world, but I am confident enough to rank within the top five.”

Her voice was modest, but her tone radiated absolute certainty. Jiang Xun, whose heart had been suspended in his throat, finally let out a shaky breath.

He pulled the last strip of gauze away.

He opened his eyes.

One glance. Just one glance was enough to make his eyes sting with unshed tears of joy.

The man in the mirror was flawless.

His features were heroic and refined, his skin like polished jade. He had regained the appearance of a “Banished Immortal”—a being too perfect for the mortal dust. For Jiang Xun, who had spent the last few days in a hell of disfigurement, this was a joy as vast as the heavens.

“Senior Sister… thank you!”

Jiang Xun stood up and bowed deeply, his gratitude for once entirely genuine.

Xu Wanqing caught his arm before he could bend too low. “Junior Brother, I told you. Between us, there is no need for thanks.”

“Third Senior Sister…”

“Enough of that,” she cut him off with a smile, skillfully changing the subject. “I was in such a rush to treat you that I never asked for the details. You were bullied at the Bibo Sect?”

Jiang Xun stiffened. “It… it was just a misunderstanding.” He hesitated, then added, “The Bibo Sect didn’t attack me intentionally. Senior Sister, please don’t be angry on my behalf.”

He thought he was being magnanimous, but his words had the opposite effect.

Xu Wanqing’s brows knitted together, her expression turning icy. “They dared to attack you?”

“Well…”

“Junior Brother, you are the Junior Martial Uncle of the Azure Mystic Sacred Land. To attack you is to declare war on Azure Mystic. This is no small matter.”

“But…”

“Misunderstanding or not, a tiny sect like Bibo daring to lay a hand on you is a trend we cannot allow to grow.”

“Senior Sister, I…”

Xu Wanqing shook her head, her eyes gleaming with a terrifying, self-righteous light. “Junior Brother, you returned from Bibo fully loaded with gains. That is good. But you made one mistake.”

“What mistake?”

“You shouldn’t have only taken the Fated Chance.”

Jiang Xun looked confused. “What do you mean?”

“Fated Chances belong to those destined for them,” Xu Wanqing lectured, her voice soft and dangerous. “Since you obtained it, it is yours by right. But from Bibo Sect’s narrow perspective, they likely believe you stole it.”

She sighed, as if burdened by the world’s ignorance. “This is a seed of hatred. If left unchecked, it will grow into a towering tree of calamity. Therefore, once you decide to seize a Fated Chance, you must not be polite. Soft-heartedness and pity are merely the soil for future disaster.”

Jiang Xun’s eyes lit up as he grasped her meaning. “Senior Sister… are you saying we should go cause trouble for Bibo?”

“Not cause trouble,” Xu Wanqing corrected gently. “We are going to demand justice for you.”

“I will listen to everything Senior Sister says!”

“Let’s go. I will take you to Bibo Sect personally.”

Xu Wanqing was a woman of action. She grabbed Jiang Xun’s arm and stepped into the void.

However, as they descended Jade Pill Peak, they ran into Yuchi Chunlei pacing anxiously at the mountain base.

“Second Senior Sister?” Xu Wanqing paused. “Aren’t you helping Junior Brother forge his artifact? Why are you wandering around here?”

Yuchi Chunlei jumped, looking guilty. “Ah! Third Junior Sister, Junior Brother! I… uh… that is…”

She stammered, her face flushing red. “Junior Brother, I have something I want to… want…”

Xu Wanqing frowned, her patience thinning. “Second Senior Sister, Junior Brother and I have urgent business. If you have something to say, speak quickly.”

“Um… I… the materials… that…” Yuchi Chunlei struggled, her pride warring with her incompetence. Finally, she slumped. “Never mind. We can talk when you get back…”

Xu Wanqing and Jiang Xun exchanged a puzzled glance but didn’t press her. Yuchi Chunlei was known for being a bit slow-witted; it was best not to waste time deciphering her thoughts.

As the duo flew away, Yuchi Chunlei watched them go, her expression crumbling into bitterness.

She had the blueprints. She had the materials. As a Grandmaster Artificer, copying a design should have been simple.

But she had encountered a massive problem.

Embarrassed to admit failure, she sighed and trudged back up Artifact Resonance Peak. She would have to figure it out herself.

“If it really doesn’t work…” she muttered, “maybe I can swap out some materials for substitutes?”

High above the dense forests of the Heaven-Leveling Mountains.

“Junior Brother,” Xu Wanqing instructed as they flew, “when we arrive at Bibo Sect, I will personally execute the Leng sisters. You must not be soft-hearted.”

“This is not only to sever Karma but to ‘kill the chicken to scare the monkey.’ You don’t need to speak. Leave the slaughter to me.”

She looked at Jiang Xun with concern, worried his kindness would be his undoing.

In reality, Xu Wanqing needed a show of force. The Azure Mystic Sacred Land had suffered too many humiliations recently. To maintain their status as a Sacred Land, they needed to flex their muscles. Bibo Sect had simply volunteered to be the example.

Jiang Xun put on a mask of hesitancy, but inwardly, he was ecstatic.

His trip to Bibo had been profitable, but he had failed to secure the Profound Yin Soul-Protecting Pill or Ruyue’s Providence. Now, with Xu Wanqing as his enforcer and scapegoat for the Karma, he could take everything.

It was a perfect plan.

Suddenly, a sensation of cold terror pierced his skull.

“Junior Brother, look out!”

Before Jiang Xun could process the threat, Xu Wanqing yanked him violently to the side.

Whoosh!

Something invisible sheared through the air where his head had been a microsecond ago.

Jiang Xun reached up with a trembling hand. A lock of hair—freshly regrown by spirit herbs—had been sliced clean off, right against the scalp.

Cold sweat drenched his back.

Just a fraction of an inch lower, and his skull would have been pierced.

Before he could exhale, the crisis screamed back into existence. Jiang Xun turned his head and saw it—a translucent, almost invisible blade, hurtling toward him like a vengeful ghost.

“Again?!”

Jiang Xun gritted his teeth and activated every defensive artifact on his person.

Layers of golden light and shimmering barriers erupted around him. These were high-grade treasures gifted by his doting Senior Sisters, including a Heaven-grade protective amulet.

He felt safe.

But as the ethereal sword struck, the barriers didn’t even slow it down.

Crack… Shatter!

Like a hot knife through wet paper, the sword passed effortlessly through the defenses.

Jiang Xun’s eyes bulged.

What rank is this sword?!

“Junior Brother!”

Xu Wanqing roared, thrusting her hand forward. Her palm glowed with jade-green energy, carrying the terrifying power of a top-tier cultivator. She intended to grab the blade mid-air.

But the moment her fingers closed, her pupils dilated in shock.

The sword… vanished.

It didn’t disappear; it dissolved into ten thousand motes of “Dust Light,” slipping through her fingers like water, only to reform instantly on the other side.

Pfft!

The blade drove through Jiang Xun’s chest.

Blood sprayed from his mouth. The wound was dangerously close to his heart meridian.

“Damn it!” Xu Wanqing’s face went pale. She shoved a healing pill into Jiang Xun’s mouth, but the sword was already turning for another pass.

“You beast! Do you think this Venerable One is made of clay?!”

Xu Wanqing howled in fury. With a wave of her hand, a massive Pill Furnace materialized, crashing toward the Crossing Immortal Sword.

This was no ordinary item. It was her Life-Bound Dharma Treasure, a Heaven-grade artifact forged from countless rare materials. It was virtually indestructible.

Clang!

The sword struck the furnace.

Xu Wanqing stiffened, then vomited a mouthful of blood.

She looked at her precious furnace in horror. A clean, smooth hole had been punched right through it.

Her Life-Bound Artifact… pierced in a single blow?

“This sword…” Her mind reeled. “Is this an Immortal-grade Divine Sword?!”

While she was paralyzed by shock, the Crossing Immortal Sword ignored her and lunged for Jiang Xun again.

“You bully me too far!”

Jiang Xun, clutching his bleeding chest, screamed and summoned the Heaven-Bestowed Ruyi.

Finally, something worked.

A mysterious green light radiated from the Ruyi, enveloping Jiang Xun. As the sword entered the light, it instantly slowed, as if swimming through drying cement.

Sensing the strange power of the Ruyi, the sword attempted to retreat.

“Injure my Junior Brother and think you can leave?”

Xu Wanqing saw her chance. Combining her Spiritual Sense power with the Ruyi’s suppression field, she struck with lightning speed.

Her hand closed around the hilt.

She braced herself for a struggle, pouring her energy into the blade to crush its spirit.

But to her surprise, the sword didn’t fight back.

Instead, a frantic, pathetic consciousness flooded her mind. It was bowing—kowtowing at the speed of light.

I surrender! I submit! Don’t kill me!

The plea was so fast and so shameless that Xu Wanqing froze.

She hesitated. The power this sword had displayed—piercing defenses, phasing through attacks, puncturing a Heaven-grade furnace—was undeniable. If such a weapon recognized a master…

“Are you willing to recognize my Junior Brother as your master?” Xu Wanqing demanded sternly.

The answer was immediate. Willing! Willing! I love masters!

“Really?”

Absolutely true! Cross my heart!

“What is your name?”

Clever!

“Clever?” Xu Wanqing blinked.

Yes! My Big Brother from the Four Saints taught me that to survive, one must be clever. I am very clever!

“What nonsense…” Xu Wanqing muttered, bewildered. But the temptation was too great. A weapon of this caliber would make Jiang Xun invincible.

“Junior Brother, take it,” she said, handing the subdued sword to him. “It has surrendered.”

Jiang Xun’s eyes lit up with greed. He reached out, his earlier fear replaced by the thrill of obtaining a supreme treasure.

“Since you are sensible,” Xu Wanqing threatened the sword, “recognize him as Master immediately, and I will spare your spirit.”

The sword allowed Jiang Xun to grip its hilt. It felt docile, harmless as a lamb.

Jiang Xun grinned, his blood boiling with excitement. Xu Wanqing relaxed, lowering her guard.

And in that split second of complacency…

The “docile” Crossing Immortal Sword exploded into Dust Light.

It slipped free from Jiang Xun’s grasp, rematerialized in the air, and spun downward.

“Beast!”

“Ruyi!”

Xu Wanqing and Jiang Xun shouted in unison.

But the sword was faster. It didn’t aim for the head. It didn’t aim for the heart.

It dipped low, executed a vicious horizontal slash, and then rocketed out of the green light’s range, fleeing into the horizon.

“You dare run?!”

Xu Wanqing was about to give chase when a hand clawed at her sleeve.

She turned to see Jiang Xun. His face was twisted in a rictus of agony, sweat pouring down his forehead.

“Senior Sister… save… save me…”

“What?” Xu Wanqing was confused. “It missed your heart, didn’t it? It just slashed downwards to escape…”

Her gaze followed his trembling hands downward.

Her expression froze.

Blood—a torrent of it—was gushing uncontrollably from Jiang Xun’s crotch.

The sword had…

It had actually…

As the realization hit her, a faint, mocking consciousness drifted back on the wind, carried from the fleeing blade:

My Big Brother said: As an artifact spirit, one must be flexible.

Attack where they least expect. Strike their vital points.

Today, my Fourth Brother isn’t strong enough to finish the job.

But next time we meet…