The young man’s words carried a hint of childishness, along with a touch of naive overestimation of his own abilities. Yet… at this moment, that very naivety radiated an incomparable firmness.

Nian Zhaoxi and Qin Moran were both stunned. Utterly shocked!

So… the reason Gu Xiu had been studying the contents at the back of that talisman manual wasn’t because he was overly ambitious or overestimating himself. It was because, from the very beginning, he never intended to cultivate the path of talismans!

He read those parts, meticulously recorded them. Simply… in the hope that in the future, he could help his senior sister, Qin Moran!!!

While the two women were reeling in shock, the scene in the mirror changed once more.

Gu Xiu had grown a bit older and had heard about the concept of “Forced Spirit Invocation” and the backlash it could bring. Next, he began to study in detail the various effects and functions of those Divine-grade Dao Rhythms recorded in the talisman manual. And also… the consequences that would arise from Forced Spirit Invocation! He committed all of this meticulously to memory.

At one point during this period, Gu Xiu even asked someone a question.

“If a sixth-rank talisman master has been unable to achieve Spirit Invocation, what method can I use to transfer the backlash onto myself, allowing the sixth-rank talisman master to successfully attract a divine entity without harm?”

This question was naive. But it was precisely this naive question that made Nian Zhaoxi break down in tears once again.

She understood why the Gu Xiu in the mirror was asking this. He had learned about the difficulty of Spirit Invocation and wanted to inquire if he could sacrifice himself to help Qin Moran in the future!

Even Qin Moran’s expression flickered with emotion upon hearing this.

Finally.

The mirror showed once more the scene from when Qin Moran was attempting Spirit Invocation. This time, however, it started directly from when Gu Xiu regained consciousness, closed the door, and prepared to leave.

Just as the courtyard gate was about to shut completely, Gu Xiu’s expression suddenly changed drastically.

“No! This is Forced Spirit Invocation!”

“Senior Sister isn’t performing normal Spirit Invocation; she’s forcing it!”

After much hesitation, he did not choose to retreat. Instead, he pushed the door open again and walked towards Qin Moran, who was in the midst of her attempt. He walked quickly but with light steps.

“Why is Senior Sister so foolish? She knows better than I do the risks of Forced Spirit Invocation!”

“I hope what she attracts isn’t some unbearable Divine-grade Dao Rhythm. I hope it’s not…”

Gu Xiu muttered to himself all the way until he finally arrived behind Qin Moran. However… when he saw the talisman Qin Moran was writing, Gu Xiu’s face turned completely grim.

He had memorized all the Divine-grade Dao Rhythms. Naturally, he recognized at a glance exactly which Dao Rhythm this was.

“The ‘Zha’ Character Talisman!”

“How could it be the ‘Zha’ Character Talisman?!”

“What do I do?”

“If it’s this talisman, how will Senior Sister endure it?”

Gu Xiu stood frozen on the spot. Countless thoughts flashed through his mind. These should have been inner thoughts, but now, on this Heavenly Secrets Reincarnation Mirror, they were directly conveyed as audible sounds for others to hear.

“Once Forced Spirit Invocation for the ‘Zha’ Character Talisman succeeds, Senior Sister will undoubtedly die! Even those methods I learned for substituting myself and bearing the backlash would be utterly useless!”

“No!”

“I can’t let Senior Sister walk down a dead-end path!”

“Senior Sister… I’m sorry!”

After this thought flashed through his mind, Gu Xiu finally acted—he directly reached out and forcibly snatched the talisman brush from Qin Moran’s hand!

The Spirit Invocation failed! The ‘Zha’ Character Talisman began to drift away from Qin Moran, and Qin Moran herself fell unconscious…

“Junior Sister, do you still believe now that Gu Xiu intended to harm you, that he deliberately wanted to sever your Dao?” Nian Zhaoxi asked, almost enunciating each word deliberately.

Qin Moran lowered her head without answering.

“Gu Xiu wanted to help you from the very beginning!”

“It was he who discovered you were attempting Forced Spirit Invocation! It was he who discovered you had attracted none other than the utterly fatal ‘Zha’ Character Talisman!”

“And it was he who stopped your Forced Spirit Invocation!”

“He didn’t want to sever your Dao.”

“He wanted to save you!!!”

Nian Zhaoxi spoke these words almost through gritted teeth. Everything was now clear!

The reason no one noticed Qin Moran’s Spirit Invocation attempt was because she never wanted anyone to know she was actually using Forced Spirit Invocation from the start! She had used special means to block other disciples from detecting it. She had probably even deliberately waited until Guan Xuelan took the other disciples to visit Yantian Sacred Ground before beginning her attempt!

Gu Xiu interrupted her Spirit Invocation not to destroy her Dao path but to prevent her from committing suicide!!!

At this moment.

Facing Nian Zhaoxi’s deliberate words, Qin Moran’s body trembled slightly. Yet ultimately, Qin Moran’s expression turned cold and indifferent once more as she spoke softly.

“Did I ask him to save me?”

“What?” Nian Zhaoxi was taken aback.

“I never begged him to come save me,” Qin Moran stated coldly now. “I don’t need him to save me! I don’t need anyone’s help!”

“You… what are you saying?” Nian Zhaoxi found it unbelievable; she felt this junior sister before her had become frighteningly unfamiliar.

A self-mocking smile appeared on Qin Moran’s face as she said, “Senior Sister, you should know that Spirit Invocation depends on fate, not effort alone. I have been a sixth-rank talisman master for three hundred years.”

“For three whole centuries, I have poured in endless effort. Yet no matter what I did, I could not achieve Spirit Invocation; not even a hint of its summons ever appeared for me!”

“Do you know what that means, Senior Sister?”

“It means my three hundred years of effort have become empty talk; my three hundred years of dedication have become a joke!”

“It also means that if I wait any longer, I might never encounter another chance for Spirit Invocation in this lifetime! I need to fight for it; I need to gamble!”

“Whether I succeed or fail, I am willing to accept it!”

“I had prepared everything perfectly; my Spirit Invocation was nearly complete! But because of Gu Xiu… all of it was ruined in the end!”

“It’s all because of him!”

“But he was stopping you from killing yourself!” Nian Zhaoxi retorted incredulously and angrily.

“Yes, he stopped me from killing myself,” Qin Moran countered sharply. “But how does he know that I wasn’t willing to die for it? ‘Hear the Dao in the morning; die contentedly by evening.'”

“It was my own choice; what right did he have to interfere?”

“To be honest,” Qin Moran continued coldly, her voice dripping with resentment now directed at herself or perhaps at fate itself, “I have thought about this matter many times since then; I’ve regretted countless times over these past years… but never once have I regretted attempting Forced Spirit Invocation itself.”

“What I regret is only why didn’t I kill him beforehand? What I regret is only why back then when I meticulously calculated everything—shielding my situation from detection by all cultivators—I carelessly overlooked him: that useless cripple without any cultivation base whatsoever?”

At this moment, Qin Moran’s face twisted into something ugly—filled with venomous hatred towards someone who’d tried saving her life. Or maybe just bitterness over a lost opportunity? It wasn’t clear anymore, but seeing such an expression made Nian Zhaoxi feel like she’d been struck dumb by lightning—unable to even comprehend how someone could think like this after seeing the truth laid bare before them via the magic mirror.

Her voice trembled slightly as she finally managed to utter, “You… You are simply unreasonable!”

To which Qin Moran merely snorted derisively, replying instantly without missing a beat, “Yes indeed—I am unreasonable! Have you only just realized this now, Senior Sister?”

“You… You…” Nian Zhaoxi found herself at a loss for words, momentarily unable to formulate a proper response due to sheer shock and disbelief.

And just then…

“Oh no!”

“Why is the backlash from the ‘Zha’ Character Talisman still present?!”

A sudden exclamation drew attention away from their argument, causing both women to look towards the source of the sound, realizing belatedly…

The scene within the Heavenly Secrets Reincarnation Mirror hadn’t ended yet!