Severing Ties: The Sect Regrets My Departure

Chapter 241: Teacher, Am I Not Your Most Proud Disciple in This Life?

“Have we uncovered Ning Yuan’s true identity?”

“We cannot. His origins are entirely obscured. He appeared out of nowhere, purchased that courtyard to teach, and interacts with almost no one in the city. There are simply no leads.”

“And what of his ruler? Have we found any information on such a formidable Dharma Treasure?”

“Nothing. This is the first I’ve seen of it. I’ve never even heard of a ruler-type Dharma Treasure possessing such power.”

Yin Wenshu’s brows locked in a deep frown at Yu Sihai’s report. His unblinking gaze remained anchored on Ning Yuan, who was currently manipulating the Ink-Black Ruler to suppress their formidable enemy. Ning Yuan appeared strained; he maintained the ruler’s heavy suppression with one hand while scattering handfuls of Talismans with the other, weaving a relentless barrage that pinned the handsome scholar in place.

“What is it?” Yu Sihai noticed his rigid posture. “Did you discover something?”

“I can’t shake the feeling that I know this Ning Yuan,” Yin Wenshu murmured, his lips pressed into a thin line. “There is something distinctly familiar about him.”

Yu Sihai frowned. “Familiar how?”

“I can’t put it into words. It’s just an instinct.” Confusion flickered in Yin Wenshu’s eyes.

Yu Sihai cast a strange look at Ning Yuan, squinting at the distant figure before his eyes widened with sudden realization. “Now that you mention it, I remember. The way you and this Ning Yuan cast Talismans… the hand seals are nearly identical.”

A Talisman technique? Startled, Yin Wenshu scrutinized Ning Yuan’s movements. Sure enough, every time Ning Yuan cast a Talisman, his fingers blurred into a highly specific seal to prime the parchment. Just a fraction of a second before the Talisman fully activated, he would flick his wrist, releasing a subtle pulse of Spiritual Qi to propel it through the air. The Talisman would drift toward its target before detonating violently in mid-air.

Yin Wenshu’s pupils shrank to pinpricks. How does he know my Flying Script Talisman technique? Cultivators generally required no strict methodology to cast Talismans. As long as one possessed the parchment and the Spiritual Qi to ignite it, the deed was done. However, veteran Talisman masters cultivated their own unique habits and rhythms. It was like lighting a fuse—any spark would trigger the explosion, but different explosives yielded varying effects, blast radii, and delay timers. Such nuances were usually forged through years of trial and error, or inherited directly from a master. Some Daoist Sects even guarded their exclusive casting methods as core secrets.

Yin Wenshu possessed his own proprietary method: the Flying Script Talisman technique. It was designed to maximize the efficacy of various Talismans while catching opponents off guard.

But aside from a handful of my own students, I have never passed the Flying Script to an outsider. How could this man possibly know it? Wait… students? Earlier, that expert from the White Jade Tower claimed Ning Yuan was a Talisman master who had failed his Divine Invocation—someone lacking a Divine-grade Dao Rhyme! Yin Wenshu’s eyes bulged as he stared at Ning Yuan’s back. A predatory glint surfaced in his gaze. Killing Intent surged, hot and suffocating.

He knew exactly who this was. He had no idea what esoteric arts she had employed to alter her appearance so flawlessly that he hadn’t suspected a thing, but the facts were undeniable. A Talisman master who failed a Divine Invocation. A cultivator at the Grand Perfection of the Nascent Soul realm. The wielder of the extraordinary Ink-Black Ruler. The sole other practitioner of his Flying Script Talisman technique.

Qin Meran!

Who else could it possibly be?!

The moment her true identity clicked into place, an inferno of rage erupted in Yin Wenshu’s chest. If Ning Yuan was Qin Meran, then she had been using this disguise to deliberately infiltrate his life. She had weaponized her intimate knowledge of him, exploiting his habits and blind spots to deceive him flawlessly! She had been stalking him from the very beginning, a venomous snake biding its time in the tall grass.

Worse still, she had hijacked his own investigation into the Listening-to-Rain Pavilion to steal the prize for herself! When he had gone there to apologize, “Ning Yuan” hadn’t been there by coincidence. She had orchestrated the entire encounter to snatch away his Fated Chance!

The sheer weight of her manipulation crashed down on him, bringing his Killing Intent to a boiling point. This vicious, treacherous bitch! She was his own disciple, yet she dared to scheme against him with such underhanded methods! Damn her! She deserves to die! Right at that moment, Qin Meran shot a glance over her shoulder and bellowed, “Yu Sihai, Yin Wenshu! Why are you just standing there? He is about to break free! If you don’t strike now, will you be able to stop him later?!”

Yin Wenshu was a master of masks. The instant she turned, the murderous fury vanished from his eyes, replaced by urgent determination. “We are moving!” he called back.

Only when she faced forward again did the venom seep back into his expression. Grinding his teeth, Yin Wenshu began to creep forward, step by agonizingly slow step, closing the distance to her exposed back. He slipped several of his most lethal, bottom-of-the-box Talismans into his palm.

Because of the soul-binding oath he had sworn to Gu Xiu, he had spent his days suffocating under a blanket of paranoia. He couldn’t sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw his cultivation, his status, and his life evaporating into dust. He had exhausted every trick, every dark art, just to sever the chains of that terror. He prayed for Gu Xiu’s death. He prayed for Qin Meran’s death.

And now, Qin Meran was right in front of him. Her entire focus was locked on pinning down a Soul Formation expert from the White Jade Tower, leaving her back utterly defenseless.

This was the opportunity. A heaven-sent miracle!

Stepping directly behind her, seeing that she remained completely oblivious to the reaper at her shoulder, malicious ecstasy bloomed in Yin Wenshu’s eyes. My dear, brilliant student. It seems after all these years, you still haven’t learned the most important lesson I ever taught you. You must not harbor the intent to harm others, but you must never drop your guard against them. “Hmm?” Qin Meran let out a soft noise of confusion, as if sensing a shift in the air, preparing to look back.

But she had not hesitated to use him, and Yin Wenshu, as her teacher, would show no mercy in return. Without a single wasted breath, he slammed the primed Talismans directly between her shoulder blades!

A direct hit!

The apocalyptic power of the Talismans detonated at point-blank range. A shockwave of pure destructive energy ripped through the air, shredding Qin Meran’s physical form into nothingness in a split second.

Euphoria surged through Yin Wenshu’s veins. He had done it! He had butchered the bane of his existence! He was finally free! The agonizing curse of that oath would bind him no longer!

Yet… the triumphant sneer stretching across his face suddenly froze.

Why had her physical body disintegrated so effortlessly? She hadn’t left behind a single drop of blood.

A chillingly familiar whisper suddenly brushed against his ear. “Teacher. You once said I was the most proud disciple you would ever have the privilege of teaching in this life. Tell me…”

“…would I really make such a pathetic mistake?”

What?! Yin Wenshu’s heart seized in his chest. He lunged backward to retreat, only to smash against an invisible barrier. The space around him was saturated with a hidden Talisman array. Before he could even begin to break the trap, a single strip of parchment slapped firmly onto his back.

“I have been waiting for you to take the bait, Teacher.” Qin Meran’s voice slithered into his ear. “After all, deceiving one’s master and exterminating one’s ancestors goes against the very sage texts you had me read, doesn’t it?”

The instant her words faded, the Talisman plastered to his spine triggered. A terrifying, invasive force bored directly through his flesh, racing down his Meridians and plunging straight into his Dantian.

Everywhere it flowed, it ignited into searing, raging hellfire, instantly setting his Nascent Soul ablaze!

“This is an eighth-grade Heavenly Fire Soul-Burning Talisman. It will not harm your physical flesh, Teacher. It will only incinerate your Dantian Qi Sea—from your Dao Platform, to your Nascent Soul, and finally, your Divine Soul.”

“It will burn you down to absolutely nothing!”

“I exhausted an enormous amount of resources to procure this divine parchment. Consider its use upon you as my filial duty—a disciple feeding the crow that raised her, repaying your boundless grace!” Qin Meran’s tone dripped with sickening sincerity.

But Yin Wenshu could barely hear her. His mind was fracturing under an ocean of boundless agony. His Dantian had been transformed into a literal inferno. Even the Nascent Soul meditating atop his Dao Platform was wreathed in apocalyptic flames.

The pain was absolute. It was a complete sensory overload.

What made it worse was the paralysis. Beneath the excruciating torment, Yin Wenshu couldn’t twitch a muscle. He couldn’t scream. He could only stand rigidly in place. To an outside observer, it simply looked as though he had zoned out.

A cold, cruel laugh echoed behind him. “Since you once swore an oath to bestow the Divine Invocation upon me, Teacher, and since you are now on the verge of death… it is only right that I collect my inheritance!”

“I spent countless hours planning for this exact moment.”

“Rest assured, Teacher. Your Divine Invocation will not go to waste.”

The next instant, Qin Meran rapidly formed a Dharma Seal. Several hidden Talismans detonated simultaneously. Through the haze of his burning soul, Yin Wenshu felt a sinister lock latch onto the Divine Invocation residing within his body.

Immediately after, the Ink-Black Ruler, still hovering above the handsome scholar, emitted a faint pulse of light that swept outward, striking Yin Wenshu. As the light shifted targets, a massive, glaring flaw appeared in the lockdown array suppressing the scholar.

The scholar had been thrashing like a caged beast, desperate to break free. The moment the flaw manifested, he seized it without a second thought, unleashing a world-shattering punch.

It was the full, unbridled might of a Soul Formation cultivator!

And the fist was aimed directly at Yin Wenshu.

BOOM! A dull, sickening crack echoed through the pavilion. Yin Wenshu was launched backward like a cannonball. Every single bone and Meridian in his body was pulverized into dust upon impact. His life force was snuffed out in a fraction of a second.

But in the fleeting millisecond before his consciousness faded into eternal black, Yin Wenshu heard the voice of his beloved student, perfectly disguised, screaming in hysterical, heartbroken anguish:

“Teacher!!!”