“This is the last time.”
“After tomorrow, my senior brothers and sisters will take me back to the sect. We’ll hardly ever get the chance to see each other again.”
“Forget me. Find another woman who’s right for you and marry her.”
In a room at an inn in Elm City.
On the bed, Zhao Qingyao breathed a little heavily, fine beads of sweat on her forehead as she looked calmly at the man before her.
Su Yang gazed at the beautiful, familiar face before him, a trace of unwillingness welling in his eyes.
“I have a Spirit Root too. I can cultivate immortality too.”
Zhao Qingyao looked reluctant to hurt him.
“You have a Five-Element Spiritual Root.”
The unwillingness in Su Yang’s eyes shattered in an instant, and his whole demeanor grew considerably more dejected.
That was true.
He had a Five-Element Spiritual Root.
What did a Five-Element Spiritual Root mean?
To put it nicely, it was called a mixed Spirit Root. Normally, people called it a trash Spirit Root—the “trash” in “trash.”
Zhao Qingyao was different. She had a Heavenly Spiritual Root.
It was the highest-grade Spirit Root in the cultivation world, with no bottlenecks at all before Forming a Golden Core.
With his Five-Element Spiritual Root, Su Yang could at best become a servant disciple at some small sect. Zhao Qingyao, on the other hand, was wanted even by the great sects.
Until yesterday,
the two had been a loving young couple.
Zhao Qingyao was the child bride adopted by Su Yang’s parents. The two had been close since childhood, and remained deeply in love after marrying as adults.
That is, until yesterday’s Ascension Immortal Assembly.
Zhao Qingyao was found to possess a water-type Heavenly Spiritual Root, instantly becoming the object of a scramble among the various Immortal Sects.
In the end, she was accepted as an inner sect disciple by Bihu Mountain, one of Dachu’s five great immortal sects.
Su Yang, meanwhile, had a Five-Element mixed Spirit Root. No great sect would take him in, so he eventually joined a small immortal sect called the Qingyang Sect as a servant disciple.
Once the results were announced, the gap between their positions became enormous.
The couple, who had once sworn to stay together forever, now found themselves divided by a rift as impassable as a heavenly chasm.
Zhao Qingyao was not a heartless person.
But the temptation of cultivating to become an immortal was right before her eyes, and she truly found it difficult to give up.
Su Yang couldn’t say he didn’t understand.
If he were in her place, he might make the same choice as Zhao Qingyao.
He simply couldn’t accept it.
He couldn’t accept being separated from his wife.
And even more, he couldn’t accept having a trash Spirit Root and no future.
He wanted to become an immortal too—to ride the wind on a flying sword and live forever.
Seeing Su Yang hang his head,
Zhao Qingyao sighed, looked away, and said softly,
“If I get the chance, I’ll find a way to help you.”
Su Yang fell silent.
After a moment, he looked Zhao Qingyao straight in the eye and said firmly,
“No. You don’t owe me anything. Take care of yourself from now on.”
“I have my own path to walk, too.”
Zhao Qingyao stared at him blankly. At last, she leaned down and brought her lips close to his ear.
“One more time, okay?”
Neither of them slept that night.
......
The next day.
With dark circles under his eyes, Su Yang rubbed his lower back as he stepped outside the inn.
Zhao Qingyao had been far too enthusiastic last night.
Even though he was naturally more energetic than most people, it had still been too much for him.
Zhao Qingyao seemed just fine. She had once again regained the cool, distant demeanor she usually wore in front of others.
Compared to the night before, Su Yang was already feeling much more at ease.
He even had the leisure to reflect to himself,
The old saying was right: you can exhaust the ox, but you can’t wear out the field.
The two were about to head together for the city center
when a male and a female cultivator drifted down to the ground.
They were both dressed in Bihu Mountain robes.
The female cultivator’s eyes lit up when she saw Zhao Qingyao.
“Junior Sister Qingyao.”
Zhao Qingyao looked surprised.
“Senior sister Mu, Senior Brother Chu, what brings you here?”
“We wanted to see you sooner, of course.” Senior sister Mu stepped forward and took her arm.
Senior Brother Chu nodded with a smile.
Zhao Qingyao looked touched.
“Thank you, Senior Brother and senior sister.”
Senior Brother Chu noticed Su Yang and frowned slightly.
“Junior Sister, is this your mortal husband?”
Zhao Qingyao glanced at Su Yang. A hint of struggle flashed in her eyes, but was quickly replaced by resolve.
She gave a slight nod, her expression cold.
Seeing this, Senior Brother Chu nodded in satisfaction and looked down at Su Yang.
“Junior Sister Qingyao has already joined Bihu Mountain. Her prospects of attaining immortality are bright.”
“You’re nothing but a worthless man with a Five-Element Spiritual Root. Compared to her, you’re no better than an ant. Don’t show your face before her again, or you’ll disturb her cultivation.”
Su Yang shuddered and looked at Zhao Qingyao.
Zhao Qingyao looked away, her voice as cold as ice.
“Su Yang, Senior Brother is right. The gap between us is like heaven and earth.”
“You’re nothing but a part of my mortal past, not worth mentioning.”
“From now on, we are through. We have nothing more to do with each other.”
The words caused a pang of pain in her heart.
But she knew she had to say them.
She was about to become her master’s disciple and cultivate the heartless path.
If she showed even the slightest reluctance to part with Su Yang, Senior Brother Chu would surely sever her emotional ties for her.
And severing those ties meant killing the person involved.
“Senior sister, Senior Brother, let’s go.”
Senior sister Mu nodded. From beginning to end, she hadn’t spared Su Yang a glance.
She took Zhao Qingyao’s hand, and the two rose into the air through Wind Riding.
Senior Brother Chu gave Su Yang one last look, his eyes treating him like an ant.
“Remember what I said. A toad belongs in the mud.”.
The three transformed into streaks of light and vanished on the horizon.
Zhao Qingyao never looked back.
Su Yang stared blankly at the sky, at the direction in which the three had disappeared.
All kinds of emotions churned in his chest.
Anger, humiliation, unwillingness, sorrow, helplessness......
So, without strength or talent, you were nothing.
Yesterday they had been a loving couple; today, they could turn on each other without mercy.
He hadn’t even truly entered the cultivation world, and he had already been taught a harsh lesson.
Just then,
“Sir, sir!”
A voice came from behind him.
Su Yang came to his senses and turned around.
It was the inn’s waiter.
The waiter held out a bundle and a letter to him.
“Before that immortal maiden left, she asked me to give these to you.”
Su Yang reached out and took them.
He tore open the envelope and pulled out the letter inside.
Familiar handwriting came into view.
“To my husband.”
“I’ve left all the Ningyuan Pills bestowed by the sect in the bundle. They can’t change your Spirit Root, but they will help with your cultivation.”
“I will cultivate the heartless path and must sever my emotional ties. Forget me, and don’t come looking for me.”
“May you live in peace and joy, with no regrets in this life.”
Su Yang’s hand trembled as he held the letter.
He recalled Zhao Qingyao’s reaction just now and understood everything.
So she hadn’t changed.
He was simply too useless.
Su Yang carefully folded the letter and tucked it close to his body.
After that, he straightened up and looked toward the city center.
“Qingyao, I’ll become stronger.”
“Strong enough to stand proudly by your side one day.”
“Strong enough that no one will ever be able to separate us again.”
......
When he reached the city center,
the immortal sect stewards and disciples who had tested Spirit Roots the day before were all gathered there.
The various sects were clearly divided, each occupying its own area according to status.
The most conspicuous were naturally Bihu Mountain and several other top Immortal Sects.
The Qingyang Sect was at the edge, hardly noticeable.
Su Yang stepped forward and handed over the entry credential he had been given the day before.
The Qingyang Sect disciple in charge took the credential. Seeing the words “Five-Element Spiritual Root,” he casually tossed it back to Su Yang and said impatiently,
“Go wait at the back. We’ll leave once everyone’s here.”
Su Yang calmly put away his credential and thanked him.
After walking a few steps toward the back, he saw some familiar faces.
They were the promising young candidates who had been accepted by the Qingyang Sect along with him the day before.
The group was now divided into three sections.
The three sections represented three different ranks of disciples:
inner sect disciples, outer sect disciples, and servant disciples.
It was immediately obvious which section represented which rank.
The servant disciples were the most numerous, while there was only a single, isolated inner sect disciple.
The people in the three sections didn’t interact at all.
Some of the outer sect disciples tried to curry favor with the inner sect disciple, but that disciple ignored them outright.
The difference in status was already plain to see.
Su Yang kept walking and soon reached the servant disciples’ section.
He didn’t know anyone there, and no one approached him for a chat.
Su Yang was content to enjoy the quiet by himself.
Before long, the various Immortal Sects were preparing to depart.
The top Immortal Sects left first.
Bihu Mountain arrived with a flying boat so enormous it blotted out the sky.
A gigantic hand extended down from the flying boat and scooped up the Bihu Mountain group in the city.
Su Yang saw clearly that Zhao Qingyao was among them.
After Bihu Mountain’s flying boat departed,
several medium-sized flying boats left one after another.
Only at the end did the small sects like the Qingyang Sect depart.
Compared to Immortal Sects like Bihu Mountain, the Qingyang Sect’s method of departure was rather shabby.
The Qingyang Sect’s inner sect steward simply brought out a leaf-shaped magical artifact and activated it together with several inner sect disciples.
The leaf-shaped magical artifact grew enormous.
The steward had everyone board the magical artifact. A barrier rose around it, and once it had fully enclosed the artifact, the leaf shot into the sky and headed for the Qingyang Sect.
The leaf-shaped magical artifact flew steadily.
Seated in the center of the leaf, Su Yang opened the bundle Zhao Qingyao had given him.
“Huh? What’s this?”
At some point, a bronze mirror had appeared in the bundle.