Severing Ties: The Sect Regrets My Departure

Chapter 249: The First Official Reunion, Who Delays Whom, It’s Not Certain Yet!

Shi Siling’s mind spun with chaotic thoughts until Gu Xiu’s voice cut through the silence. His brows were slightly furrowed. “Peak Master Shi, do you have no intention of leaving?”

Jolted from her reverie, Shi Siling suppressed the myriad questions gnawing at her. “Are you absolutely certain you won’t return with me?” Sensing his growing impatience, she pressed on. “If you agree, I’ll recover from my injuries as quickly as possible and escort you back. Now that you’ve re-embarked on the path of cultivation, the Sect’s attitude toward you will undoubtedly change. At the very least, your Clumsy Peak should be returned to you.”

“I’m not going,” Gu Xiu replied, his tone devoid of hesitation.

His blunt refusal sparked a flare of dissatisfaction within her. “You claim you harbor no resentment, so why do you refuse to return to Azure Mystic with me?”

“I don’t want to.”

“Why?”

“There is no ‘why.’ I simply don’t want to.”

“You once called Azure Mystic your home,” she pushed, her voice tightening. “Now that you’ve run away, do you truly intend to never return?”

“The moment I signed the Sect Severance Treaty, Azure Mystic ceased to be my home.”

“Stubborn!” Anger finally breached Shi Siling’s calm facade. “Do you even realize that Azure Mystic is now a Sacred Land? Our resources and connections eclipse anything you can imagine! If you’re throwing this away just to prove a point, the only person you’re delaying is yourself!”

“Who is delaying whom? That remains to be seen,” an unfamiliar voice chimed in.

Shi Siling frowned, her divine sense sweeping the area, but the speaker had vanished without a trace. Caught off guard and unable to pinpoint the source, she redirected her focus back to Gu Xiu.

“Your innate aptitude was never good. Although your comprehension is exceptional, aptitude is the absolute foundation of the cultivation path. Without it, the resources you require will be exponentially greater than those of ordinary men. You are alone. Without Azure Mystic’s backing, amassing those vast resources will drain a tremendous amount of your time. Do you truly intend to squander your monumental talent on such trivial struggles?”

Annoyance colored her features—a frustration born of his perceived lack of ambition. If it were anyone else, Shi Siling wouldn’t have spared them a second glance. But this was Gu Xiu. Gu Xiu, who had finally stepped back onto the path.

She didn’t know what Fated Chance he had stumbled upon, but she knew returning to Azure Mystic would accelerate his ascent back to the peak. In her eyes, his refusal was nothing more than petty, lingering spite. She had to convince him, and the promise of endless resources was an unavoidable lure.

However, just as the words left her lips, that mysterious voice echoed again.

“Don’t just stand there, hurry up and move!”

Before Shi Siling’s astonished eyes, a legion of mechanical puppets materialized out of nowhere. Moving in perfect, synchronized lines, they marched through the courtyard. Cradled in their wooden arms were piles of unbelievably rare earthly and heavenly treasures. A few puppets even hauled handcarts overflowing with glittering Spirit Stones, cart after cart trundling past.

Even with her vast experience and unshakeable composure, Shi Siling couldn’t help but stare. True, compared to the monolithic wealth of the Azure Mystic Sacred Land, this was but a drop in the ocean. But for a single, independent cultivator? It was an absurd, staggering fortune. With wealth like this, he genuinely wasn’t lacking compared to an elder in a Sacred Land.

“I don’t know how you became an elder of the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, nor how you acquired such a hoard,” Shi Siling pivoted swiftly, masking her shock. “But as your Senior Sister, I must remind you: on the path of cultivation, wealth alone is insufficient. True power lies in inheritance. Receiving guidance from supreme experts will elevate your comprehension far beyond what any ordinary person could achieve.”

“Little Ping’an, it’s time to cultivate!” a voice hollered from the side courtyard. “Today, focus on the Earth-rank technique your teacher gave you to build your foundation. If you hit a wall, just ask your Uncle Sui! I didn’t live for thirty thousand years just to freeload. And hey, taking a step back, even if your Uncle Sui can’t figure it out, you still have your teacher. He’s re-cultivating his path! Not only does he not need a shred of guidance from anyone, but his comprehension is leagues deeper than any so-called expert at his realm…”

Shi Siling’s gaze snapped toward the side wing. A little girl, looking no older than three, sat cross-legged, earnestly attempting to circulate her qi. The speaker remained hidden from view, but her senses warned her that whatever was talking… wasn’t human.

The sarcastic jab was clearly deliberate. She had just claimed Gu Xiu would be lost without a Master to answer his questions. But listening to that voice, the reality sank in. He was walking a path he had already conquered. What possible bottlenecks could he encounter? The allure of Azure Mystic’s “guidance” was utterly meaningless to him.

“What about backing, then?” Gritting her teeth, Shi Siling attacked from a third angle. “There is always a higher mountain, Gu Xiu. For cultivators, those born into prestigious Sects with powerful backing will always have the advantage over Rogue Cultivators scraping by in the mud. Even when facing killers or forming blood feuds, having a behemoth behind you ensures no one dares to rashly strike or humiliate you. Think about it! If you return with me, just Master’s name as a Supreme Being will shield you from countless calamities. You will never have that safety as a Rogue Cultivator.”

It was an earnest, logical plea.

Yet…

“Little Ping’an, let me tell you a secret,” the detestable voice drifted over again. “Our Tianqi might seem huge to you, but it’s actually a tiny puddle. Forget the whole world; even looking at just the Eastern Wastelands, Tianqi is nothing special. We are cultivators! The word ‘struggle’ is etched into our very bones. Relying on background and backing might make life comfortable, but nine times out of ten, it just breeds a generation of spineless, cowardly good-for-nothings!”

“Remember what Uncle Sui taught you: if you can win, fight! If you can’t win, run! There’s no shame in running. It’s infinitely better than being a pathetic coward who cries for their Sect elders the moment they scrape a finger…”

This time, Shi Siling’s temper snapped. Murderous intent flared in her eyes as she took a heavy step toward the study, determined to drag that insolent loudmouth into the light and teach it a bloody lesson. Even clay figures have a little fire in them; to be continuously mocked and undermined was simply outrageous!

However, her foot never touched the ground.

A suffocating pressure washed over her. Gu Xiu’s gaze had locked onto her—cold, sharp, and terrifyingly calm. An intense, unexplainable sense of mortal peril spiked in her chest. The warning was clear: if she dared to unleash her power here, she would suffer unimaginably severe consequences.

Stunned, she looked at Gu Xiu, her eyes widening in disbelief.

“You little girl, how unreasonable! Was anything I, Lord Sui, said wrong?” Seeing Shi Siling freeze, the speaker grew utterly brazen. A figure leaped out from the study—Suixing, hands planted firmly on his hips, his face twisted in open disdain.

“Resources? Guidance? Backing? If a cultivator relies entirely on crutches, how high can they possibly climb? Let’s not talk about anyone else—let’s look at five hundred years ago! Did Gu Xiu have any of your so-called resources, guidance, or backing?”

Suixing sneered. “Sure, having them is nice. But if you don’t, does that mean the path is dead? Your mindset is fundamentally flawed! With a weak mentality like that, if you ever try to break through to the Mahayana Supreme Being realm, you’re practically begging for a tribulation failure!”

The blatant taunt burned Shi Siling’s cheeks, yet she found herself entirely unable to refute him. It was the undeniable truth. Five hundred years ago, when Gu Xiu walked the world, he had none of those advantages. Yet, hadn’t he still reached the absolute summit? Hadn’t he forcefully carved a legend until there was no one under the heavens who didn’t know his name?

“Azure Mystic and I have severed all ties,” Gu Xiu said, his voice flat. He turned slightly, raising his right hand toward the exit. “If Peak Master Shi came here solely to persuade me to return, then save your breath.”

He was throwing her out.

Shi Siling’s expression cycled through a spectrum of emotions before finally settling into a rigid nod. She turned and walked to the threshold, pausing just before stepping out.

“Gu Xiu, we both know returning to Azure Mystic is the most beneficial path for your cultivation. Throwing away this Fated Chance just because of petty spite… it is highly irrational.”

She still believed he was merely acting out, unable to swallow his pride.

But Gu Xiu had lost all interest in entertaining her delusions. Without another word, he flicked his wrist, instantly activating the Listening-to-Rain Pavilion’s defensive arrays. The shimmering barriers forcibly expelled Shi Siling, leaving her no choice but to depart into the street.

“Whew, finally sent that plague god packing,” Suixing muttered, slumping against a pillar.

“Scared me to death! I thought we were actually going to fight. That was a Half-step Supreme Being! If she really went all out, she would have dismantled this shabby place,” one of the other spirits chimed in.

“Thank goodness!”

As soon as Shi Siling’s presence faded, the Four Spirits collectively exhaled. Especially Suixing. Despite his arrogant posturing just moments ago, he had been absolutely terrified. More than the threat of a fight, however, he was worried about Gu Xiu.

“The past is always the hardest ghost to exorcise,” Suixing said softly, glancing at Gu Xiu. “Will today’s encounter affect your state of mind?”

It was a valid concern. This was the first time since leaving the Sect that Gu Xiu had formally confronted a ghost of Azure Mystic using his true identity. Given Suixing’s vast experience, he feared this clash might rattle Gu Xiu’s Dao Heart.

Clearly, he was overthinking it.

The moment Shi Siling was gone, Gu Xiu didn’t waste a single second brooding over the past. He immediately set to work reinforcing the arrays. Drawing out thick stacks of Talismans, he plastered them across the courtyard’s weak points, layering defense upon defense until the Listening-to-Rain Pavilion was armed to the teeth.

Satisfied, he turned on his heel and strode briskly into his room.

There was only one thing left to do.

The Green Bamboo Rod was ready. It was time to go fishing!