Bathed in such a gaze, Yin Mingjing’s mood was naturally quite good. After all the toil and dust of his journey, to come back and be greeted by a child with eyes shining brightly, running over to welcome him home… How should one put it? Perhaps to others, it might seem like something ordinary. But for a disciple under the Sword Sovereign Qingyan, this was a rare experience indeed. This pavilion had always been cold and desolate.
His smile deepened as he listened to the little girl chirping away, her small hands clasped together in thanks, and he felt as though the entire hall had grown brighter.
What’s more, seeing that this child had managed to remain under the Sword Sovereign’s watchful eye for over a month without being driven away and had even smoothly established her foundation, Yin Mingjing couldn’t help but think—perhaps she was destined to become his little junior sister.
Because he suspected that Qingyan regarded Yu Sang‑sang differently, he treated her with even more warmth. Walking alongside her toward the main hall, he watched her beam with joy as she carefully tucked away her treasures.
The little one’s face was brimming with the joy of harvest.
“Has it already been more than a month?”
Truly, in cultivation there is no sense of time—one retreat, and an instant feels like an age!
To Yu Sang‑sang, time was nothing more than the blink of an eye. Yet in reality, she had already been in seclusion for a full month. Thinking of this, she quickly lowered her head to check herself again. Still the same body, brimming with talent; still human. It was clear that the baleful qi of the Li Xiao had not altered her.
Since the month promised by Sword Sovereign Qingyan had now passed, Yu Sang‑sang felt reassured—she was safe, still herself. She could rest easy, living as a person. Because of this, her mood lifted even higher.
Talking together, the two of them entered the main hall.
Moments later, Sword Sovereign Qingyan stepped inside. Seeing them both, he inclined his head slightly and asked, “Well?”
Though he was cold in manner, he was not the sort to ignore the evil of Li Xiao. So, upon receiving Yu Sang‑sang’s information, he had sent Yin Mingjing to investigate. This was serious business.
Yin Mingjing, ever responsible, straightened at once and said, “Following Master’s guidance, this disciple went forth—and indeed found someone with ill intent.”
That “ill intent” must surely be the source of the Li Xiao.
Yu Sang‑sang, who had suffered from it herself, pricked up her ears.
“And the man?”
“That cultivator’s strength was not low—late Nascent Soul stage. Yet he was no match for this disciple. Still, he was fierce enough to self‑detonate his Nascent Soul…”
Yin Mingjing glanced at Yu Sang‑sang’s small face, hesitated, then spoke softly: “This disciple captured that Nascent Soul, searched it, and managed to glean a few traces.”
Fearing that such a cruel method might frighten the innocent girl, Sword Sovereign Qingyan saw his rare hesitation and thought he was overthinking. After all, this was a child who spoke of soul‑searching as casually as breathing.
“There was a secret art hidden within his Nascent Soul. I did not uncover much, but I did find that they are eyeing one of the Heavenly Pillars—seeming to have found a way to revive it.”
Seeing the Sword Sovereign’s thoughtful expression, Yin Mingjing dared not be careless. As the sect’s chief disciple, he knew the truth of the Heavenly Pillars: if one were revived, the demon gods would bring chaos. And if a Pillar that supported the firmament were lost, who knew what calamity might follow?
So he continued, “This disciple also thought of one more thing. That tremor of heaven and earth more than a month ago, when all the Pillars roared together—could it be connected to these people?”
Indeed, more than a month ago, the realm had suddenly been thrown into disorder: spiritual energy in turmoil, the earth quaking, and the Pillars that upheld the world booming and shaking in unison, as though something within sought to break free. The entire cultivation world had been seized with fear and concern.
Although that tremor had vanished in an instant and everything soon returned to normal, the terror of that moment when heaven and earth shook still lingered in Yin Mingjing’s heart. He could not help but connect it to this matter, and a trace of unease arose.
“Heaven and earth trembled?” Yu Sang‑sang blinked in surprise.
“That was a few days before you came to Lingxiao Sect… Did you not feel it at home?”
Such a tremor should have been felt throughout the realm. He was referring to the time when Yu Sang‑sang had been at the Dayu imperial tomb. She shook her head. She had felt nothing in Dayu, and neither Old Wang nor her wretched father had mentioned it. Clearly, they too had been unaware.
“Perhaps because Dayu is remote,” she said.
Even so, a tremor of the realm should not have spared Dayu. But perhaps those in such a distant place could not grasp the gravity of the event, and so paid it no mind.
Yin Mingjing did not dwell on it but continued: “And that Wei Li—I have already uncovered the truth from that cultivator’s soul. Passing through Dayu once, he took a liking to Wei Li’s ruthless, arrogant nature, daring to do anything, and so taught him cultivation. Moreover… it seems he intended Wei Li to leave Dayu in time to carry out an important task, one that required the aid of Li-Xiao. Thus he entrusted all the Li‑Xiao he had gathered to Wei Li. He never imagined Wei Li would ruin his plans for the sake of a woman.”
That demonic outsider had sought to use Wei Li, but Wei Li, knowing he would soon depart to serve another, first wanted to rid Xianzhu of her greatest threat—and so came after Yu Sang‑sang. Yet he never expected to run into someone not to be trifled with and was slain outright by Yu Sang‑sang. In the process, he even exposed the precious Li‑Xiao that the cultivator had painstakingly hoarded in hiding.
“Afterward, I went again to Dayu.” Because that demonic outsider was tied to Wei Li, Yin Mingjing feared that more villains might lurk there and made another trip. He recalled the girl in the Dayu court who called herself Yu Xian’er and the words she and the Dayu sovereign had spoken about Yu Sang‑sang. His gaze toward her could not help but soften with pity… Even if Yu Sang‑sang had never spoken of her origins, his inquiries in Dayu had made everything clear. He had overheard that father and daughter discussing the scheme of “substituting plum for peach.” And also the matter of the true Yu Xian’er’s disappearance.
The Dayu tomb had sent word to the palace: someone had broken in at night with ill intent. When the guards broke through the barrier, they found Yu Xian’er already missing. Only bloodstains and scorched ashes remained. The Dayu sovereign suspected Yu Xian’er had been killed. Yet his reaction was chillingly indifferent. He even smiled and said to the girl beside him—who let out a small sigh of relief—“So be it. If she is dead, then we need worry no more.”
“But… but if she’s still alive…” the innocent, lovely girl asked uneasily, “her whereabouts unknown…”
“If she was abducted… who snatches away a young maiden in the dead of night, if not someone with ill intent?” the King of Dayu said coolly. “Her abduction is understandable. After all…” A complicated look crossed his face as he added softly, “She truly was a beauty in the making.”
When Yin Mingjing heard this—already certain from his search that Wei Li had left nothing harmful behind in the Dayu palace—his heart burned with fury. He thought of the little girl who muttered about fate before him, her whole heart concerned for others, and then looked at that father and daughter, so indifferent to her possible fate, and felt only disgust. Even he, who had shown her only a little kindness upon their first meeting, had been sincere. Yet this man, her own father, was so heartless and unjust.
As he spoke of it, Yin Mingjing’s face grew dark.
Yu Sang‑sang and Sword Sovereign Qingyan both fell silent. So… villains, coveting beauty… The Sword Sovereign’s reputation seemed a bit maligned.
“This disciple has never bullied the weak,” Yin Mingjing said awkwardly, for his nature was broad‑minded and he disliked relying on strength to oppress. But the king of Dayu and his daughter were simply too hateful. So he confessed to Sword Sovereign Qingyan, embarrassed: “When I left, I summoned thunder and shattered the Dayu Palace. The king’s cultivation was weak, and by accident… some places were scorched.”
The lightning art of a half‑step Great Ascension cultivator, unleashed without restraint, was naturally formidable—one strike nearly reduced the palace to rubble. And when thunder falls, it is hard to control, is it not?
As it happened, the father and daughter beneath that thunderbolt were both gravely injured. The king himself… in certain delicate places, because they were frail, was reduced to charcoal.
It was certainly not Yin Mingjing’s intent. He was, after all, a man of integrity. One could only say the king of Dayu’s luck was poor.
Yu Sang‑sang’s eyes lit up at once. She stared wide‑eyed at Yin Mingjing and quickly asked, “Did you vent your anger for me?”
Sword Sovereign Qingyan, uninterested in the life or death of strangers, merely narrowed his eyes at the little girl now circling around the smiling Yin Mingjing. So fickle. Before, when begging him to kill her father, this filial daughter had been all “Sword Sovereign this, Sword Sovereign that.” In the blink of an eye, she had already chased after someone else. But he paid it no mind.
Sword Sovereign Qingyan gave a cold snort, not even glancing at Yu Sang‑sang—who clung to his disciple like a little pup—only saying coolly, “If you struck, then you struck. It’s nothing worth fussing over.”
Would the Sword Sovereign of Lingxiao Sect need to worry about killing someone?
Moreover, Yin Mingjing had already explained that the only ones harmed by the thunder strike were those few who had targeted Yu Sang‑sang. No innocents were touched.
Qingyan merely frowned slightly and asked, “What was that cultivator planning for Wei Li?”
“This disciple did not uncover it. But since we already know they were aiming at the Heavenly Pillar guarded by the Zhou clan of the Southern Province, I fear we must inform the Zhous.”
Within that Nascent Soul, he had found that the demonic sects seemed to have a detailed plan against that Pillar.
Even though Wei Li was dead, the others were fully prepared—and brimming with confidence, certain they could revive the Pillar.
Such certainty was troubling.
Yu Sang‑sang listened to their discussion but could not join in. Instead, her thoughts wandered to the years when Wei Li and Xianzhu were apart. He later claimed he was gravely injured and cultivated under his master. But now, thinking back, perhaps there was more to the story—dark deeds he had hidden from Xianzhu. And she had only spoken aloud the name of the “life‑saving master” he mentioned would appear later, yet it had already proven that man was no good. Clearly, Wei Li had long been entangled with these people.
Yu Sang‑sang scratched her head and somehow remembered how Wei Li had once tried to assassinate the true Yu Xian’er but failed. How had that frail, defenseless Yu Xian’er managed to escape alive? She asked instinctively, “Dao-friend, when you went to the imperial tomb… were the people inside all right?”
The story’s perspective was Xianzhu’s, so naturally it never spoke of the fate of those within the tomb. But if anyone could have stopped Wei Li that day, it must have been Old Wang. Though he had exchanged his own fate for Xianzhu’s, years of care made her worry for him. She had vanished, and the King of Dayu had never liked Old Wang and his people. Even if he cared nothing for her life or death, might he not use her disappearance as an excuse to punish them?
“People in the imperial mausoleum? You mean those guards watching over the tombs?”
“Huh? No, I meant the ones doing odd jobs inside—the old men and women…”
“There aren’t any. Ah… I vaguely overheard some guards talking. They said that since your whereabouts are unknown, a few of them probably fled out of fear of punishment. Now the mausoleum is left completely unattended.”