“For me?”

Nian Zhaoxi’s expression turned utterly cold. She fixed her gaze on the Third Junior Sister before her, her voice barely a whisper. “For what part of me?”

Xu Wanqing’s face remained a mask of deep solicitude. “Eldest Senior Sister, ever since Gu Xiu abandoned the sect, you have been consumed by grief. You have overtaxed your spirit divining his fate, causing grievous harm to your own foundation.”

She sighed softly, stepping closer. “I could not bear to watch you torment yourself any longer. I had to steel my heart and play the villain.”

“I did it to help you, Senior Sister.”

“I did it to sever your earthly troubles!”

Xu Wanqing spoke with such palpable emotion, her eyes brimming with sincerity. Her gaze was written through with concern and worry. In the past, faced with such a look and such words, Nian Zhaoxi would have found it impossible to harbor any blame. After all, even if Xu Wanqing had erred, her motivations were never selfish.

But now…

Facing this Junior Sister who had always prided herself on having a Bodhisattva’s heart and a self-sacrificing nature, Nian Zhaoxi suddenly felt a wave of physical repulsion.

Disgust.

Nausea.

She found it difficult to reconcile the woman standing before her with the sister in her memories. Had Xu Wanqing changed? Or was it simply that Nian Zhaoxi had never truly seen her clearly before?

After a heavy silence, Nian Zhaoxi spoke again. “Do you have any other reasons?”

“This…”

“You are closest to Junior Brother Jiang. You must have had thoughts for his sake as well, correct?”

“Yes, but that is separate from my concern for you.” Xu Wanqing paused, then nodded solemnly. “Since Gu Xiu left, Little Junior Brother has mentioned more than once that he misses him. He hoped to find Gu Xiu and resolve the misunderstandings.”

“He even argued with Master over the matter, and his cultivation has suffered from distraction. This proves that Gu Xiu’s abandonment has become a shackle on his heart.”

“If this continues, the consequences will be dire.”

This time, Nian Zhaoxi did not press further. She merely let out a long, hollow sigh. It was a sound filled with regret, sorrow, and profound confusion.

“Senior Sister, you value sentiment and cherish the past. This is your virtue, but also your curse,” Xu Wanqing said, her voice tender. “We cultivators are destined to walk the path alone, with the Dao as our only guide.”

“Indulging in the past,” Xu Wanqing warned, “may lead to an Inner Demon.”

“Inner Demon?” Nian Zhaoxi laughed, a desolate, withered sound. “Since when did the Little Junior Brother from five hundred years ago become an Inner Demon?”

“Senior Sister—”

“Xu Wanqing.”

Nian Zhaoxi looked at her, eyes filled with crushing disappointment. “Do you remember when Sixth Junior Sister’s soul was half-consumed by madness? She cursed every single one of us. Back then, I thought it was just the ramblings of the insane.”

“But looking back now… what she screamed at us…”

“She was so right.”

Xu Wanqing frowned. “Senior Sister, the Sixth was completely out of her mind. Her words were—”

“Do you remember what she said about you?” Nian Zhaoxi cut her off, her voice turning icy. “A Bodhisattva’s face, a venomous heart, yet proclaiming the heart of a saint!”

Xu Wanqing’s expression stiffened.

“Everything you do has a convenient justification. For the world, for your sisters, for the sect, for others,” Nian Zhaoxi continued, her tone trembling with suppressed rage. “It seems you never think of yourself.”

“So I want to ask you,” Nian Zhaoxi leaned in, her eyes piercing. “When you killed Gu Xiu, was there really—truly—never a single reason that was just for you?”

The question hung in the air, heavy and suffocating.

Xu Wanqing’s expression shifted slightly. She fell into silence.

“Gu Xiu was once your Junior Brother! He shed blood for you, ate bitterness for you, and blocked blades for you!” Nian Zhaoxi gritted her teeth, tears threatening to spill. “How could you steel your heart to kill him? Are you truly so heartless? So ungrateful?”

Unfortunately, no matter how Nian Zhaoxi questioned, no matter how she berated, Xu Wanqing remained obstinately silent.

“Since you won’t say it, I will ask the heavens myself!”

Nian Zhaoxi gritted her teeth and summoned the Heavenly Secrets Reincarnation Mirror.

Seeing the ancient artifact, Xu Wanqing finally panicked, raising a hand to stop her. “Senior Sister! Your body… if you use the Heavenly Secrets Reincarnation Mirror again, it will burn away your lifespan!”

“Lifespan?” Nian Zhaoxi stared at her. “What use is it?”

“What?”

“You save lives and preach longevity. But have you ever considered… if one lives in torment day and night, is that longevity a blessing or a curse?”

“I…” Xu Wanqing was struck speechless. She felt a phantom pain in her chest as she looked at Nian Zhaoxi. She saw a soul being fried in oil, sliced by a thousand invisible cuts.

Pursing her lips, Xu Wanqing finally whispered, “Senior Sister, do not use the mirror. With your current state, a divination of this magnitude will kill you.”

“Do you think I fear death?”

“You may not fear it, but what if you exhaust your life and still receive no answer?” Xu Wanqing hesitated, then lowered her head. “Junior Sister… indeed has a reason for killing Gu Xiu.”

“What is it?”

Xu Wanqing shook her head slowly. “I cannot say. Even though Gu Xiu is dead, I cannot speak it.”

Nian Zhaoxi frowned. She wasted no more breath and began to channel spiritual energy into the mirror. Even if she died this very moment, she would drag the truth into the light.

“Wait!” Xu Wanqing grabbed her arm. “Senior Sister, I know you are disappointed in me. I know you do not trust me. But this matter is critical.”

“If I speak rashly… the Azure Mystic Sacred Land could face total annihilation!”

What?

Nian Zhaoxi froze, looking at Xu Wanqing in astonishment. The Healer’s face was grave, her eyes holding a trace of genuine terror. “It is not that I do not trust you, Senior Sister. But this secret involves forces even I do not fully understand.”

Although she had resolved not to believe another word from Xu Wanqing’s mouth, Nian Zhaoxi felt a chill. The fear in Xu Wanqing’s eyes was real. She held a secret too heavy to speak.

“I know this won’t change your mind,” Xu Wanqing said quickly. “So, let us make a pact.”

“A pact?”

“Yes. If you can fulfill one condition, I will tell you everything I know, holding nothing back.”

“What condition?”

Xu Wanqing thought for a moment. “If you can make even one Senior or Junior Sister feel true guilt and remorse for Gu Xiu… I will give you the answer.”

Nian Zhaoxi frowned deeply.

“I know your sentiment toward him,” Xu Wanqing continued. “Now that he is dead, not a single person in the sect mourns him. Do you not wish… to restore his name within the Azure Mystic?”

Everyone had a weakness. Nian Zhaoxi’s weakness was Gu Xiu.

Xu Wanqing had struck true. This was exactly what Nian Zhaoxi wanted. But…

“I know you fear deception,” Xu Wanqing said, raising three fingers. “I swear a Heavenly Dao Oath here and now. If I violate this pact, may my soul suffer the eternal torment of ten thousand biting ghosts, never to find peace!”

The air hummed with invisible pressure. A Heavenly Dao Oath was no joke; it was a binding law of the universe that no cultivator could escape.

Seeing her swear upon her own soul, Nian Zhaoxi studied her for a long moment before nodding.

“Done.”

“I will do it.”

“I only hope, Third Junior Sister, that your secret is worth the wait.”

Nian Zhaoxi turned and walked away, her silhouette lonely and sharp against the light.

That day, when she gave away her Providence, she had not sought death. She chose to return not because she feared the end, nor because she coveted the title of Eldest Disciple.

She returned for Gu Xiu.

She did not expect forgiveness. She did not dream of returning to the way things were. She wanted justice. She wanted to know why the world had turned upside down in five hundred years.

She had tried to divine it before, but the cost was astronomical. The secret was shrouded in a fog so dense it felt like a celestial embargo. If someone was manipulating them from the shadows… she would kill them.

At this moment, no one in the Azure Mystic Sacred Land knew the depth of Nian Zhaoxi’s resolve, nor the chilling transformation of her heart.

Certainly, Lu Qingyao had no idea.

As soon as Nian Zhaoxi stepped out of Xu Wanqing’s courtyard, a shadow passed overhead. Lu Qingyao descended on a white crane, her face flushed with excitement.

“Eldest Senior Sister! You’re here too?” Lu Qingyao looked surprised, but immediately waved her hand enthusiastically. “Quick, quick! Call Third Sister and come to my Spirit Beast Peak!”

“What for?” Nian Zhaoxi frowned, her patience wearing thin.

“What else? To attend the banquet, of course!”

“A banquet?”

“Yes! I’m hosting a feast tonight at Spirit Beast Peak. I’ve even brought out my most precious spirit fruits and vintage spirit wine.”

Nian Zhaoxi stared at her, incredulous. “At a time like this, you have the heart to throw a banquet?”

“Oh, Senior Sister, don’t be like that! If not now, then when?” Lu Qingyao giggled, the sound grating and piercing. “That disaster, that pest Gu Xiu is finally dead! Isn’t that a reason to drink until we drop?”

“It’s worth a universal celebration! The whole sect should be rejoicing!”

Hearing this, Nian Zhaoxi looked deeply at Lu Qingyao.

She was already filled to the brim with suffocating resentment from her conversation with Xu Wanqing. She had nowhere to vent the fire burning in her chest.

But now…

It just so happened that the timing was perfect.