Severing Ties: The Sect Regrets My Departure

Chapter 214: The Mountain River Remnant World; Death Awaits on Both Paths

“The Mountain River Remnant World!”

As soon as those four words left Lu Qingyao’s lips, the smile on her face vanished. Seeing this, Xu Wanqing felt her scalp go numb.

In the depths of her soul, the mechanical voice of judgment had already begun to thunder.

“DETECTED: HOST IS A PARAGON OF VIRTUE. YET YOU COVET THE POSSESSIONS OF OTHERS AND SEEK TO FORCE THEIR HAND.”

“PUNISHMENT DUE! PUNISHMENT DUE!”

The voice sent a violent shudder through Xu Wanqing’s body. While frantically burning her Wish Power to offset the incoming torture, she flipped her hand, dumping a massive pile of treasures from her Storage Ring onto the table.

“Little Junior Sister! I only wish to borrow the Mountain River Remnant World for a few days to heal my injuries! I harbor absolutely no greed for it!”

“Look! Senior Sister gives you all of this in exchange!”

“This is a Mind-Calming Pearl to aid your meditation! This is Lightning-Struck Divine Wood to ward off Inner Demons! And this… and this…”

Xu Wanqing emptied her coffers. Whether useful or useless, she shoved everything into Lu Qingyao’s arms. Finally, gritting her teeth, she pulled out her most prized possession.

“And this White Jade Fan! It possesses unfathomable supreme power. Senior Sister will use this to trade for a few days with your Remnant World.”

“The moment you exit your seclusion, I will return it to you immediately!”

Even Lu Qingyao looked surprised.

She knew the White Jade Fan. It was a mysterious treasure Xu Wanqing had obtained years ago. She kept it by her side constantly, even using it during alchemy. Though Xu Wanqing was known as the kindest of the sisters, she had always been fiercely protective of this fan, allowing no one to touch it.

And now… she was handing it over?

“Alright!”

Lu Qingyao nodded, her eyes curving into crescents. “Although the Mountain River Remnant World is important, I won’t need it for my breakthrough. If Senior Sister wants to borrow it, take it.”

Lu Qingyao flipped her wrist and produced a jagged shard of porcelain.

At first glance, it was unremarkable—just a piece of broken pottery. Faintly painted upon its surface was a landscape of mountains and rivers, though due to the fracture, the image was incomplete. It depicted only a single small hill.

But the moment Xu Wanqing saw it, her heart began to pound with desperate hope. She accepted the shard with trembling hands, treating it as if it were fragile glass.

This was the supreme Fated Chance Lu Qingyao had obtained over five hundred years ago with Gu Xiu’s help.

Do not be fooled by its appearance. This shard contained a world.

The Thousand-Mile Mountain and River Realm.

True, as a mere fragment, the internal space was currently only the size of a small hill—roughly equivalent to a High-Grade Storage Ring.

But the nature of that space was fundamentally different.

A Storage Ring relied on spatial compression; it was a vacuum where time stood still. It could only hold dead things. Any living creature forced inside would be instantly crushed and suffocated.

The Mountain River Remnant World was a World.

It had air, spiritual energy, and laws. It could house living beings.

More importantly, the owner of the Remnant World became the “God” of that dimension. With enough spiritual power, the owner’s will became Law. They could speak, and the world would obey.

This was Xu Wanqing’s lifeline.

She suspected the Void Stone Wax carried a curse from the Heavens. No matter where she ran in the outside world, the curse found her. But what if she hid inside a separate world? What if she used the “God Mode” of the Remnant World to rewrite the rules and suppress the curse?

“Third Senior Sister, this is my most precious treasure. You absolutely must not lose it,” Lu Qingyao reminded her, eyeing the shard reluctantly.

Xu Wanqing nodded furiously. “Junior Sister, rest assured! I might lose myself, but I will never lose your World! Thank you! Thank you so much!”

Lu Qingyao laughed, erasing the ownership seal on the shard. “Haha, no need for thanks. You’ve helped me countless times and worked so hard for Little Junior Brother. It’s just borrowing a toy; don’t mention it.”

After a few more polite exchanges, Xu Wanqing bid a hasty farewell.

She flew toward Jade Pill Peak at breakneck speed, clutching the porcelain shard to her chest. She wanted to dive inside immediately. She had had enough of the torture. She needed it to end.

However, just as she touched down on Jade Pill Peak, a figure blocked her path.

It was her Master, the Sect Leader, Guan Xuelan.

“Wanqing, you’re back. Good. Master has a task for you.”

“Master!” Xu Wanqing hurriedly bowed, subtly slipping the porcelain shard into her Storage Ring. “What are your instructions?”

Guan Xuelan didn’t notice the movement. Her brow was furrowed, her expression one of annoyance.

“It is like this. Someone came seeking medical aid today. Due to past obligations, I could not refuse, so I brought them to your peak.”

“Master, rest assured. Your disciple will not fail! I will cure them!” Xu Wanqing promised instantly.

Guan Xuelan shook her head. “No.”

“Ah?” Xu Wanqing blinked.

Guan Xuelan lowered her voice, her eyes cold. “I only brought them here to save face. In truth… it would be best if the patient died. When you go in, pretend to diagnose him, put on a show of treatment, and then declare that you are powerless.”

Wh… What?

Xu Wanqing froze.

She wasn’t surprised by the request itself. Guan Xuelan had become a Supreme relatively recently. In her younger years, she had owed many favors. Now that she was the Sect Leader, people often came knocking, leveraging old debts to ask for help.

As the majestic Azure Mystic Supreme, Guan Xuelan couldn’t simply turn them away without damaging her reputation. So, she often resorted to… alternative methods. Xu Wanqing had helped her stage these “failed treatments” many times before.

It made sense. A favor repaid once is gratitude; a favor demanded endlessly is a burden. Sometimes, you have to cut the line.

But… not now!

Not when she was forced to be a Paragon of Virtue!

To see someone dying and refuse to save them? To deliberately deceive a patient?

Based on her recent experiences with the rats, the penalty for that wouldn’t just be pain.

That would be a death sentence.

Xu Wanqing trembled violently. “Master…”

She wanted to explain. She wanted to scream that she was cursed.

But before she could speak, Guan Xuelan grabbed her shoulder. Space blurred, and they appeared inside a consultation room on the peak.

Two people were waiting inside—an old man and a young boy.

Guan Xuelan’s face instantly shifted from cold annoyance to warm, righteous benevolence. She walked toward the old man with a smile.

“Fellow Daoist Chen, please be at ease. I, Guan Xuelan, have always said that the Chen Family’s kindness to me is etched in my heart. I will remember it for generations.”

“Now that your Chen Family has suffered such tragedy, leaving only this sole heir, how could I possibly sit idly by?”

She gestured grandly to Xu Wanqing.

“This is my third disciple, Xu Wanqing. Her skill in medicine and alchemy surpasses even my own. With her here, your grandson will surely be cured.”

The old man, overwhelmed by the Supreme’s grace, burst into tears. He fell to his knees, kowtowing repeatedly.

“Thank you, Sect Leader! Thank you!”

“Please, rise, rise!” Guan Xuelan said with righteous solemnity. “Though I am now a Supreme, I never forget my roots. Saving a life is the priority.”

She turned to Xu Wanqing, her eyes narrowing with hidden meaning.

“Wanqing! Why are you standing there in a daze?”

“Hurry and treat the child of the Chen Family!”

“Remember,” she emphasized, her voice heavy with command, “This child is the only bloodline of my benefactor. No matter what, you must cure him today!”

The double meaning was deafening. End the bloodline. End the debt.

The old man wept with gratitude, praising the Azure Mystic Sect as a sanctuary of saints and Guan Xuelan as a paragon of loyalty.

Guan Xuelan’s expression softened, basking in the praise.

But Xu Wanqing, the actual “Paragon of Virtue,” felt like the sky was collapsing.

She stood frozen, trapped in a nightmare.

She had analyzed her options:

Option 1: Disobey her Master’s command to kill. Result: Unfilial. Punishment Due!

Option 2: Obey her Master, fake the treatment, and let the boy die. Result: Murder/Negligence. Punishment Due!

Either way…

It’s a death sentence.

…

While Xu Wanqing stood paralyzed, trying to choose her method of execution, a quiet event occurred thousands of miles away.

Cloud Firmament City. Listening-to-Rain Pavilion.

Gu Xiu sat leisurely by the pond, the Green Bamboo Rod resting in his hand.

Suddenly, the rod dipped.

A bite.

He didn’t hesitate. He simply lifted his wrist.

The retrieval was smooth, encountering no resistance from space or distance.

As the line broke the surface, the “catch” swung through the air and dangled before his eyes.

He looked at it.

It was… a piece of broken porcelain?