When Bai Muyao woke up, she found herself lying inside a wooden cabin. For a split second, she thought she had returned to the sect, back to that secluded cabin on the lonely mountain peak. The layout here was almost identical!
It was only when she walked to the window and saw the scenery outside that she realized this place was entirely different. The surroundings were beautiful; the cabin sat on a small plain nestled between several mountain gorges. Distant mountain ranges layered upon one another, while the nearby woods were lush and green.
Walking out of the cabin, Bai Muyao saw a familiar back. The person was dressed in white, but her clothes were stained with dust, and even her hair was covered in a thick layer of grey ash. The woman was patting the dust off herself when she noticed Bai Muyao.
“Senior Sister Xu Qing!” Bai Muyao walked over quickly and performed a respectful salute. “Was it you who saved me, Senior Sister?”
She recalled falling unconscious after chanting the incantation to kill the Demon General. She wasn’t sure what happened next, but she was certain in her heart that Xu Qing must have saved her. Still, what was with all the ash on Xu Qing? Bai Muyao was puzzled but didn’t dare ask.
“Ahem,” Xu Qing said with a serious expression. “I received a report from Shi Hua and hurried over. I found you unconscious within a barrier and brought you out. There is a wisp of demonic aura remaining in your consciousness. If it absorbs too much spiritual energy, it will corrode your mind. During this time, you should stay here and focus on your cultivation to refine and dissolve that aura.”
Xu Qing had already established a barrier spanning a hundred miles, ensuring that no cultivators could intrude. This would prevent anyone from releasing spiritual energy that the demonic aura could feast upon. Naturally, she herself could not use her powers either.
Understanding the situation, Bai Muyao thanked her hurriedly. “Thank you for your help, Senior Sister. I will never forget this kindness!”
Xu Qing averted her gaze. Whenever Bai Muyao treated her with such formal respect, Xu Qing instinctively chose to avoid it. “Just refine the demonic aura as quickly as possible.”
“Yes!” Bai Muyao responded.
The conversation came to an abrupt halt. Bai Muyao still had many questions—for instance, why Xu Qing’s clothes were covered in dirt.
To Xu Qing, this was incredibly frustrating. Not being able to use spiritual energy to clean herself in this place was a massive hassle!
Several hours earlier.
When Xu Qing first discovered the demonic aura and realized she could take Bai Muyao as her slave, her mind had momentarily drifted.
I… can take Bai Muyao as a slave?
To her, a Golden Core disciple shouldn’t have been able to sway her heart. Yet, facing Bai Muyao and learning of this possibility, a sliver… no, a powerful impulse surged within her.
If I just funnel a little spiritual energy in right now, Bai Muyao will… become mine?
Xu Qing was still holding Bai Muyao in her arms, feeling her body heat and the rise and fall of her chest with every breath. If she provided the energy now, that warmth, that breath…
Xu Qing frowned and suddenly snapped back to reality.
How can I think such things? I am a disciple of a righteous sect; how can I entertain such lowly thoughts!
She immediately locked away the spiritual energy in her body to prevent it from being released and absorbed by the demonic aura. Then, she looked around. They were deep underground, and Bai Muyao had not yet woken up.
Should I leave? But how?
Xu Qing was caught in a dilemma. With just a thread of spiritual energy, she could return to the surface in an instant. But the moment she used it, it would be devoured by the demon aura.
There was no other way. Xu Qing took a cloth from her storage ring and wrapped Bai Muyao carefully. Then, she transformed into a fox and began—digging!
She strapped Bai Muyao firmly to her back and dug through the soil pawful by pawful, tunneling toward the surface. During the process, she had to constantly judge her direction to avoid running into other cultivators upon surfacing. Finally, two hours later, she broke through and saw the sun again.
She glanced at Bai Muyao, who was sleeping peacefully in the cloth, and then at her own disheveled, mud-covered state. A wave of irritation washed over her. Since she had started her path to immortality, when had she ever suffered like this? Why was she doing all this for Bai Muyao!
Xu Qing’s heart was a tangled mess of emotions. She stood up and scanned the area; it was a peaceful spot, perfect for quiet recovery. At this stage, Bai Muyao could not have contact with anyone, especially practitioners. Once Xu Qing confirmed the surrounding high mountains were deserted, she cast a barrier to cordoned off the land.
Then, thinking it inappropriate for Bai Muyao to lie on the ground, she cut down nearby trees and built a cabin—an exact replica of the one on the lonely mountain. Once everything was settled, Bai Muyao finally woke up.
Because Xu Qing couldn’t use magic, the dust on her made her look quite bedraggled. She noticed that Bai Muyao had noticed, too.
Dammit! She was Xu Qing, the Senior Sister! How could she lose face like this in front of Bai Muyao today?
Despite knowing she didn’t look her best, she forced herself to stay calm and said, “Alright, go and start your cultivation.”
Bai Muyao nodded obediently. “Yes!”
Xu Qing had already prepared a quiet spot for her. She told Bai Muyao, “If you need anything, find me anytime. I’ll be nearby.”
“Is Senior Sister Xu Qing staying too?” Bai Muyao asked. In her view, now that the barrier was up, Xu Qing didn’t need to guard her. She could take her time refining the demonic aura and didn’t want to trouble her further. “You’ve already helped me so much; you don’t need to worry about me anymore,” Bai Muyao said sincerely.
Hearing this, Xu Qing felt an inexplicable discomfort. It was that same feeling she’d had when they first separated—the one that made it impossible to cultivate. She felt that because she had been by Bai Muyao’s side and failed to protect her, she was responsible for her current state. Therefore, she felt she must stay.
“I know what I’m doing,” Xu Qing said firmly. “Just focus on your cultivation.”
“Okay!” Bai Muyao didn’t say more and went straight to the spot to begin her meditation.
Seeing her start, Xu Qing hurried to find a spot, pulled up some weeds, and bundled them together to try and brush the dust off herself. But after only two pats…
“Senior Sister… Xu Qing?”
“Hmm?”
Xu Qing spun around to see Bai Muyao standing behind her. There she was, awkwardly cleaning herself with a bunch of weeds. How could she show such a pathetic side to her!
Even as powerful as she was, she couldn’t turn back time or erase Bai Muyao’s memory. She could only turn red and maintain her posture, asking, “What is it?”
Bai Muyao stared at her for a moment, then seemed to avoid her eyes, shifting her gaze away. “I wanted to ask about some details regarding refining the demonic aura.”
Xu Qing found the shift in gaze very strange. She answered the questions about what to do if an accident occurred during the process with a calm, patient tone. Once Bai Muyao had her answers, she thanked her respectfully. “Thank you, Senior Sister. I’m going back to… cultivate.”
Xu Qing watched her go. She noticed that throughout the entire conversation, Bai Muyao had been avoiding her eyes. In the past, Bai Muyao always looked her right in the eye with a clear, bright gaze. This weirdness made Xu Qing uneasy.
After Bai Muyao left, Xu Qing touched her own face. It’s not that weird, so why won’t she look at me?
As she felt around her hair, she discovered a piece of weed stuck in it. She pulled it out, only to find there was another one… and another!
!!!!!!!!!!
What on earth?! Had Bai Muyao seen all this and that’s why she couldn’t look her in the eye? Xu Qing remembered that while they were talking, the corners of Bai Muyao’s mouth had twitched slightly once or twice.
Was she… suppressing a laugh?
Xu Qing: “………………..”
She looked at the hole she had dug up from the underground. At that moment, she really wanted to crawl back in and bury herself!
Bai Muyao’s cultivation lasted for several hours. Though the demonic aura in her mind was no longer actively corroding her, it remained restless, as if waiting to strike. A practitioner’s consciousness is their most fragile point; if it attacked, she feared she couldn’t block it. By the time her spiritual energy was exhausted, she had only refined a tiny fraction of the residue.
At this rate, how many years will it take to finish? Bai Muyao was filled with anxiety. She remembered the calamity a hundred years away; time waited for no one. At this speed, a hundred years wouldn’t be enough. That meant she might have to stay here for a century without seeing anyone.
She sighed. If only she were stronger, she wouldn’t be in this mess. And her Senior Sister was not only saving her but worrying over her. Bai Muyao felt that even if she had to stay, she shouldn’t make Xu Qing stay and be held back.
When her energy ran out, she walked out of the cultivation area and saw Xu Qing looking at the scenery. She glanced at Xu Qing’s hair—the weeds were gone, and the dust was finally cleaned off.
Xu Qing walked over and asked seriously, “How is the refinement going?” Since she couldn’t use magic to check, she had to rely on Bai Muyao’s word.
Bai Muyao shook her head helplessly. “I’m afraid I can’t refine it completely in a short time.”
Hearing this, Xu Qing secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She knew how difficult it was; even for her, refining demonic aura attached to the consciousness would take a year. For Bai Muyao, it would likely take fifty years or more to be completely free of it.
That meant Bai Muyao would be in this barrier for over fifty years. In her barrier…
Xu Qing didn’t know why she had such a thought, but seeing Bai Muyao like this, she was willing to stay these years with her.
But Bai Muyao said, “Senior Sister Xu Qing, you really shouldn’t stay here. I can cultivate alone slowly.” She didn’t want to drag anyone down.
Xu Qing shook her head. “It’s fine, you don’t”
Before she could finish, a carrier pigeon suddenly flew toward them. Xu Qing frowned, recognizing it as a message from her Master. She took the note from the bird’s leg; on it was written:
[Return to the Sect immediately.]