Severing Ties: The Sect Regrets My Departure

Chapter 194: Self-Destruct Formation, Righteous Return to a Friend in Need

“Senior Brother Chen, rest assured. I have already arranged for several of the better-looking ones this time. They will be sent to your room later,” the disciple whispered with a lecherous grin. “To be graced by Senior Brother is a blessing these lowly mortals cultivated in their previous lives.”

He paused, glancing nervously at Gu Xiu, who stood motionless. “But right now… shouldn’t we go report first?”

Gu Xiu glanced at him, then finally nodded. Without a word, he led the way through the protective array and stepped into Awakening Spirit Valley.

It had to be said—the valley was breathtaking.

Verdant hills rolled into the distance, and clear streams wound through a landscape that looked like a painting brought to life. The valley floor was divided into dozens of distinct zones, the vast majority occupied by lush, vibrant Spirit Herb fields.

Through the mist, one could see disciples in Awakening Spirit Valley robes busy in the fields, tending to the spiritual flora. Immortal Qi lingered in the air, captivating the mind and soothing the soul.

“Is this where Immortals live?”

“It’s beautiful! I can finally join an Immortal Sect. In the future, I’ll become an Immortal too! Once I succeed in my cultivation, I’ll go back and support my parents. I’ll teach those bad people in the city never to bully them again!”

“I asked the Immortal Elder. He said joining the Sect grants immortality, and they have all kinds of Spirit Pills and miraculous medicines. As long as I cultivate diligently and obey the Sect, I can earn the Immortal medicine to cure my mother.”

“I’m going to be an Immortal! I’ll rise above everyone else!”

The excited voices of the youths drifted into Gu Xiu’s ears.

They were full of naivety. They were full of longing.

They had bid farewell to their weeping parents, left their hometowns, and walked into the unknown, hoping to carve out a destiny for themselves.

But as they discussed their dreams with shining eyes, the disciples escorting them exchanged glances filled with mockery and derision.

They were laughing.

Laughing at the ignorance of these ants. Laughing at these doomed sheep walking happily into the tiger’s den, completely unaware that their dreams were about to become a nightmare.

Gu Xiu remained silent. After signaling the disciple to lead the way, he quietly fell to the back of the group, his gaze sweeping the surroundings.

Unfortunately, Awakening Spirit Valley was vast. Apart from a few open areas, most zones were shrouded in restrictions that blocked prying eyes.

He tried to fish for information from the escort disciples, but they were merely Outer Sect members. They knew even less than he did. Expecting them to hold any significant secrets was futile.

Not long after, they arrived at their destination.

The group of young men and women were immediately split up and assigned to different “Halls.” In reality, these Halls were nothing more than labor camps for different Spirit Herb fields. Even the few who possessed Spiritual Roots and some Potential were not treated differently.

Awakening Spirit Valley did not lack people.

Having a Spiritual Root meant nothing here. They first had to learn the “rules” of the valley in the fields. Only those who could accept their fate and survive the initial culling might be allowed to live as one of the Sect’s own.

As for the others…

What awaited them was endless hard labor. They would pour everything they had into this soil—their sweat, their blood, and eventually, their lives.

In this life, they would never step foot outside Awakening Spirit Valley again.

Once the new recruits were divided, Gu Xiu’s task was considered complete. His disguise was that of an Inner Sect disciple responsible for recruitment, a role that afforded him a fair amount of freedom within the valley.

Casting one last look at the doomed youths, Gu Xiu turned and walked away. He needed to find the Tantai Clan.

However, he hadn’t gone far when a voice called out to him.

“You. Come here!”

Gu Xiu turned. The speaker was a female cultivator at the Foundation Establishment realm. Unlike the others, she did not wear the Sect uniform, dressed instead in a simple, plain-colored dress.

However, Gu Xiu sensed it immediately. The cultivation technique circulating within her body was unmistakably from the Azure Mystic Sacred Land.

“Do you know Spirit Plant techniques?” the woman asked coldly.

Gu Xiu nodded.

“Then follow me,” she ordered, her tone brooking no refusal. “If you help me well, consider it your Fated Chance.”

Gu Xiu was here to find someone anyway, so he didn’t refuse.

As he followed her through the valley, he noticed that her status was transcendent. Every disciple they encountered bowed deeply and respectfully. Her attitude toward them was condescending, as if speaking even a single word to a disciple of Awakening Spirit Valley was a gracious charity.

There are Azure Mystic disciples stationed here, Gu Xiu mused. They wear plain clothes, but their status overrides the local hierarchy.

Along the way, Gu Xiu found a blind spot and quietly dropped the Crossing Immortal Sword. A moment later, the little black monkey and several puppets slipped from his sleeves and vanished into the underbrush.

Awakening Spirit Valley was too large to search alone. With the restrictions in place, finding the Tantai Clan would be difficult. He needed extra eyes.

He had intended to leave the Carefree Jade Pendant behind as well, but the artifact refused to budge. It conveyed a stubborn intent: its duty was to protect its Master, and given the unknown dangers of this place, it would not leave his side.

“We’re here.”

The female cultivator stopped.

Gu Xiu looked ahead. Before him lay a residential area distinctly different from the rest of the valley. It was a cluster of independent courtyards, elegant and secluded.

Extending his senses slightly, Gu Xiu realized there were almost no empty houses. Every courtyard pulsed with the aura of a cultivator, the weakest being at Foundation Establishment, with several stronger presences lurking within.

“I need to cultivate a batch of Spirit Pills,” the woman said, pushing open the gate to a courtyard. “You will use your Spirit Plant techniques to accelerate the growth of the herbs in the garden. Spare no effort.”

Gu Xiu originally planned to refuse and slip away, but after a quick observation of the area, he changed his mind.

“Understood.”

He scanned the layout. The location was excellent—easy to defend, hard to attack. It was protected by multiple large Formations, mostly defensive and combined-attack types. This suggested that the people living here were the core personnel of the valley.

But that wasn’t what caught Gu Xiu’s attention.

What truly interested him was the hidden array woven beneath the defensive layers.

A Self-Destruct Formation.

Clearly, Xu Wanqing attached great importance to this place, sending her own disciples to guard it. But just as clearly, she was preparing for the worst. If anything went wrong, this formation would detonate, obliterating the area and everyone inside, erasing all evidence that could link back to her.

“Truly worthy of the Bodhisattva-hearted Xu Wanqing,” Gu Xiu thought, a cold smile touching his lips. “Meticulous as always.”

“But this Formation… it’s still a bit crude. Today, I’ll be a good person and help you modify it.”

…

While Gu Xiu quietly infiltrated the core of the enemy’s stronghold, a conversation was taking place in the main hall of the Awakening Spirit Valley Sect, not far away.

“Reporting to the Sect Leader. All restrictions in the valley have been fully activated. Sentries, both open and hidden, are in position outside the perimeter. Not even a fly could break through the Formation without triggering an alarm.”

“Internal alert levels are at maximum. All experts are on standby, awaiting the arrival of the two-day deadline.”

“Furthermore, the dissemination of the news has been highly successful. Many cities are discussing our move. It has created a stir without revealing too much to other powers. Major Sects have sent spies, but they are destined to find nothing…”

On the main throne, a man with a sickly pale face listened silently to the reports.

His health was evidently poor. He periodically pressed a silk handkerchief to his lips, coughing softly. Faint traces of blood stained the white silk.

Yet, despite his frailty, he listened with intense focus, unwilling to miss a single detail. Occasionally, he would interject with specific, precise instructions.

However, the atmosphere was marred by a figure sitting in the first seat below him.

She was an exceptionally beautiful woman, sipping tea with an air of boredom. She wore the personal disciple robes of the Azure Mystic Sacred Land’s Jade Pill Peak. Her brows carried a look of compassion identical to Physician Xu’s.

But within those compassionate eyes lay a trace of impatience. She frowned repeatedly, tapping her fingers against the teacup.

Finally, seeing the sickly Sect Leader still discussing the minutiae of valley defense, she couldn’t take it anymore.

“Sect Leader Yi, isn’t that enough?”

The Jade Pill Peak disciple interrupted sharply. “He is just a cripple who has lost all his cultivation. Whether he even has the courage to show up is uncertain. Why waste time being so vigilant?”

The reporting disciple froze, looking up at his Sect Leader uncertainly.

“You may leave,” the sickly man said, waving his hand.

Once the subordinate had exited, the man turned to the woman and smiled faintly. “Fairy Xiuyun, you must remember the principle: ‘In peace, do not forget danger.’ Although Gu Xiu has lost his cultivation, the fact that Peak Master Xu personally instructed us proves this matter is a top priority. A little extra caution is necessary.”

These two people were the pillars of the valley.

The man was the Sect Leader of Awakening Spirit Valley, Yi Zhiyin.

The woman was Xu Wanqing’s personal disciple and adopted daughter, Xu Xiuyun.

Yi Zhiyin had once received Xu Wanqing’s life-saving grace and had willingly become her pawn, guarding this dark secret for years. Xu Xiuyun had been raised by Xu Wanqing since childhood. They were her true confidants.

Xu Xiuyun, however, scoffed at his reasoning. “Caution is fine, but aren’t you being a bit too nitpicky?”

“If being nitpicky guarantees absolute safety, then it is the correct course of action,” Yi Zhiyin replied gently.

“But he’s a useless cripple!”

“Useless or not, since Peak Master Xu mentioned it, we must be fully alert.”

“You are so pedantic!” Xu Xiuyun frowned deeply.

Yi Zhiyin smiled, not angered by her rudeness. He seemed about to say something else, but a violent coughing fit seized him. He quickly pressed the handkerchief to his mouth, his shoulders shaking.

When he pulled it away, a crimson plum blossom had bloomed on the silk.

“Sect Leader Yi, your injury seems to be getting worse,” Xu Xiuyun noted, though her tone held little sympathy.

“It is fine. It is not a hindrance,” Yi Zhiyin rasped, wiping his lips.

“I hope so,” Xu Xiuyun said coldly. “Whether you live or die isn’t important to me, but if you delay Master’s important matters, that would be inexcusable.”

“I once swore an oath to repay Physician Xu’s kindness with my life,” Yi Zhiyin said, his voice steady despite his condition. “Since I made the oath, I will not break it. Even if I die, I will not cause a delay.”

Xu Xiuyun fell silent. She knew he meant it.

A thousand gold for a life-saving medical favor, righteousness heavier than heaven and earth to Return to a friend in need.

This was the origin of his name, Yi Zhiyin.

He was a man who would go through fire and water to repay a debt. He was a loyal blade, executing every order without hesitation.

The only problem was that he was too meticulous. He pursued perfection to a fault.

“Sect Leader Yi,” Xu Xiuyun said, leaning forward. “You should know that compared to that useless Martial Uncle, the most important things for Master are the Tantai Clan and the Blood Field Spirit Fruit.”

“This is Master’s hundred-year plan. She will not tolerate the slightest mistake.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Rather than wasting energy on a cripple, it would be better to send more people to feed the Blood Field. We need to ripen the fruit quickly.”

“The latest batch of mortals has already been sent to the Blood Field,” Yi Zhiyin replied.

“Those are just mortals. They die from exhaustion and illness too quickly. It’s far from enough,” Xu Xiuyun snapped. “Once that useless Martial Uncle dies and the Tantai Clan’s Void Stone Wax is extracted, Master will come personally.”

“If she finds that the Spirit Medicine in the Blood Field is not yet ready, she will be disappointed.”

Yi Zhiyin frowned. “Then, according to Fairy Xiuyun…?”

Xu Xiuyun looked deeply at him, a cruel light dancing in her compassionate eyes.

“I think the disciples of Awakening Spirit Valley…”

“Lately, there have been somewhat too many of them.”