In the Law Enforcement Hall of the Qingyun Sect.
Jiang Yishu stood upright, blood staining the corner of her lips and her fingers swollen and bruised.
Among Xiao Yan’s four disciples, while Jiang Yishu stood like a condemned criminal in the center of the hall, the other three stood below Xiao Yan. On either side were the Peak Masters of each peak and their respective disciples.
Though Jiang Yishu knew the outcome, she couldn’t help but feel desolate. How many times had she stood by their side whenever they caused trouble? Yet when it was her turn, all she faced was blame.
“Third Junior Sister, how has the sect ever treated you poorly over the years? Why must you cause such a scene and insist on leaving over a moment of anger? Have you no gratitude for the sect’s years of nurturing?”
“Eldest Senior Brother is right. You can’t abandon your own future out of jealousy toward Junior Sister. Besides, Master hasn’t given up on you, so why must you leave?”
Jiang Yishu let out a cold, mocking laugh. “Has Eldest Senior Brother forgotten that all these years, Master has been traveling far and wide, while the sect duties that should have fallen to you were left to me? Tell me, was it the sect that nurtured me, or was it I who nurtured the sect?”
“Such sharp words! Handling a few trivial tasks—anyone could have done them. Junior Sister, you think too highly of yourself.”
“Exactly, exactly. So I no longer wish to occupy the sect’s resources as a useless person. I voluntarily leave the sect—isn’t that for the best?”
Listening to their exchange, Xiao Yan’s face shifted between shades of green and purple, his dissatisfaction with Jiang Yishu growing stronger.
Over the years, the Peak Masters had already harbored criticisms of him. To speak so openly in front of outsiders—wasn’t this telling those old fools that he was an incompetent sect leader?
“Silence! You have no sense of your own insignificance. Surviving a single palm strike from me would leave you crippled at best. Let’s see who would dare take you in after you leave the Qingyun Sect!”
“Jiang Yishu, do you know that leaving the sect requires severing all your meridians, abandoning your cultivation, and then, as a mere mortal, rolling down the Thousand-Step Spike Stairs to the foot of the mountain before you can depart on your own?”
Upon hearing this, Elder Dan Peak immediately stepped forward to plead. “Sect Leader, this must not be done! Cultivating a Golden Core cultivator is no easy feat. Moreover, since the sect’s founding, only one person has ever survived leaving via the Thousand-Step Spike Stairs. Even those cultivators who attempted to leave with their cultivation intact rarely managed to depart unscathed. I beg you to reconsider, Sect Leader.”
Elder Dan Peak truly pitied this child. Among her peers, she was the first to Form the Golden Core, yet due to inner demons, she had been unable to break through. Still, her character was commendable, and she had helped him retrieve rare spiritual herbs more than once. What immense grievance must she have suffered to even consider leaving the sect?
“Child Yishu, you cannot overcome this. Quickly apologize to the Sect Leader. In the future, this Elder will refine pills for you. We can all work together to find a way—perhaps your Spiritual Root can still be repaired. Don’t do anything foolish.”
For once, Jiang Yishu showed a genuine smile. “Thank you, Elder. But this junior’s mind is made up. There is no need to persuade me further.”
Jiang Yishu’s gaze fixed directly on Xiao Yan. “In reply to the Sect Leader, this disciple is willing to sever all meridians, abandon cultivation, and leave the sect, regardless of life or death.”
Jiang Yijun wept, her tears falling like pear blossoms. “Sister, don’t do anything foolish. Even if you are useless, your younger sister can still take care of you. Master, I beg you, persuade Sister not to leave the sect!”
Seeing Jiang Yijun cry, the two senior brothers beside her immediately panicked, rushing to comfort her. “Junior Sister, someone as ungrateful as her isn’t worth your concern. Without her, you still have us and Master to care for you.”
“But the Thousand-Step Spike Stairs are so dangerous. What if… what if…” she doesn’t die?
Jiang Yijun lowered her gaze.
Before her parents died, they said it was best for her to stick closely to Jiang Yishu if she wanted to climb higher. And indeed, that proved true—she caught Xiao Yan’s eye and even entered the sect with Jiang Yishu in tow.
As expected, even Jiang Yishu’s Supreme Ice Spiritual Root could become hers. Not only could her cultivation advance, but watching Jiang Yishu fawn over her like a lapdog brought her immense satisfaction.
Yet, if Jiang Yishu were to leave her side while still alive, she could never rest easy. Her parents claimed Jiang Yishu possessed great fortune, but why couldn’t she, Jiang Yijun, be the one blessed with such destiny?
Jiang Yishu not only had a prettier face but also greater talent in cultivation. Even her Spiritual Root was a Supreme Ice Spiritual Root, while Jiang Yijun was stuck with an Inferior Water Spiritual Root.
She hated Jiang Yishu to the core. Born of the same mother, why was Jiang Yishu superior in every way?
Even catching Xiao Yan’s attention was only because of the jade pendant around her neck. Otherwise, with her inferior Spiritual Root, she would never have been admitted into the Qingyun Sect.
And that jade pendant—she had snatched it from Jiang Yishu.
Xiao Yan gazed at Jiang Yishu’s unyielding posture and saw a faint shadow of an old acquaintance in her. Unconsciously softening his tone, he said, “Since your mind is made up, as your master, I shall grant your wish. For the sake of our master-disciple bond, I will not be merciless. Your second senior brother will cripple your cultivation.”
Suddenly named, Second Senior Brother Yan Weixu snapped out of his daze, his voice choked with emotion. “Yes, Master.”
Yan Weixu knew there was no turning back. Step by step, he approached Jiang Yishu, his feet growing heavier with each stride. How had they come to this?
When their master first brought the two sisters to the sect, the sweet-talking, coquettish younger sister was raised by the master himself, while Jiang Yishu, who was not good with words, was practically raised by his own hands.
Those timid eyes of Jiang Yishu’s would light up like a starry sky every time she saw him, breathtakingly beautiful.
Whenever he returned from missions outside the sect, he would bring Jiang Yishu gifts from the mortal world.
Whether it was a pretty stone or a sugar figurine, Jiang Yishu would cherish it as if it were the whole world.
The soft, dependence-filled calls of “Senior Brother” grew distant, replaced by cold indifference.
“Junior Sister, if you’re willing to take back your words, even if Master punishes me, I will plead for you.”
Jiang Yishu looked at him, the one she had once relied on most, who later wept as he dug out her Spiritual Root. She communicated through Divine Sense alone.
“Second Senior Brother, if you still remember how I spent three months unconscious after retrieving the antidote for you from the snake pit, I beg you—when crippling my meridians, spare my heart meridian.”
Yan Weixu sighed and gathered his strength to carry out the crippling. He intended to leave a trace of her heart meridian intact, but Jiang Yijun suddenly struck out, inadvertently destroying Jiang Yishu’s last remaining thread of heart meridian.
Blood streamed from Jiang Yishu’s eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, leaving her unable to utter a sound.
Yan Weixu’s gaze swept over, only to see Jiang Yijun collapsed on the ground, weeping as if her heart were bleeding. “I’m sorry, Second Senior Brother… I couldn’t bear to see Sister become a cripple… I didn’t mean to strike at you… I only wanted to save Sister…”
Seeing his beloved younger disciple knocked to the ground by his second disciple’s palm wind, Xiao Yan crushed Jiang Yishu’s disciple token in his hand.
“Yan Weixu, throw Jiang Yishu down the Thousand-Step Spike Stairs. From this day forward, whether she lives or dies, she has no further connection to the Qingyun Sect.”
As soon as the words fell, Xiao Yan scooped up Jiang Yijun and strode away, as if guarding a precious treasure.
Elder Dan Peak looked at Jiang Yishu’s pitiful state, his eyes slightly reddening. “This child has had a hard life. Nephew Yan, let this old man personally see her off on her final journey.”
Elder Dan Peak took Jiang Yishu from Yan Weixu’s arms, and it was only then that he realized how frighteningly light the cheerful little girl was.
Elder Dan Peak took out a Heart-Protecting Pill from his robe, quickly disguised it as an ordinary candy, and placed it in Jiang Yishu’s mouth, his smile gentle and kind.
“Have a piece of candy. The road ahead won’t be bitter anymore.”
Jiang Yishu struggled to open her eyes, taking one last look at the Qingyun Peak lineage.
The eldest senior brother had never spoken up for her from start to finish. The moment the junior sister was taken away, he too disappeared without a trace.
Seeing that there was nothing more to watch, disciples from the other peaks gradually returned to their own peaks.
Yan Weixu stood there as if in a daze, his eyes losing focus, still holding the posture of carrying Jiang Yishu. In the end, only a few onlookers remained, lingering around the Law Enforcement Hall.
Feeling moisture on her face, Jiang Yishu looked up and met Elder Dan Peak’s tear-filled eyes, forcing a faint smile.
“Elder, don’t cry. I’m happy to leave Qingyun Sect. It doesn’t… hurt at all…”
No matter how slowly they walked, they eventually reached the Thousand-Step Spike Stairs. Elder Dan Peak gently set her down and secretly slipped a dagger into her hand.
“Child, the road ahead now depends on you.”
Unable to bear another glance, he stumbled away in the direction of Alchemy Peak.