Chapter 101 Purifying the Roots of Emotion:

Xiaozhi glanced at Lu Yingqi, then at Rong Xie.

He couldn't understand why these two men could talk about such a momentous event so easily.

"Brother Qi, please stop talking about others. Think about it, how exactly did you... how did you..." Xiaozhi dared not utter that terrible word, and her eyes reddened again.

"Dead?" Lu Yingqi said calmly. "I'm not dead yet, and I don't know how I died. I'll have to ask you, my friend."

Rong Xie sensed that Lu Yingqi didn't want to cooperate with him, but that didn't stop him from investigating further. Since Lu Yingqi wouldn't say, he would guess.

“Senior Brother Lu has a high cultivation level, is protected by his sect, and doesn’t like to show off or go out much, unlike Shen Bingsi who offends people everywhere. In theory, he should be quite safe.” Rong Xie said while observing the expressions of the two people opposite him. “Senior Brother Lu, you shouldn’t have made any enemies, right?”

“No, Brother Qi is kind-hearted and has never made enemies,” Xiao Zhi quickly said. Suddenly, he remembered something. “There’s only one thing. When Xiao Ya was in critical condition, Young Master Ying Lin came to see him. Brother Qi couldn’t help, so he advised him to think more positively. But Young Master Ying Lin seemed to misunderstand Brother Qi’s meaning and thought that Brother Qi was abandoning someone to die… Even though we are brothers, we haven’t spoken to each other since then…”

“I know about this,” Rong Xie nodded. “However, Lu Yinglin probably doesn’t have any intention of seeking revenge.” Lu Yinglin doesn’t even have the thought of seeking revenge against the Lu family, so how could he possibly seek revenge against Lu Yingqi? “Is there anyone else?”

Xiaozhi thought for a moment, then shook her head. Lu Yingqi silently drank his tea.

Rong Xie thought that Xiao Zhi had been by Lu Yingqi's side since she was a child, so his statement about whether Lu Yingqi had any enemies should be quite credible.

“Since there are no enemies, then it is an easily overlooked danger,” Rong Xie said.

"Easily overlooked dangers?" Xiaozhi asked, puzzled. "Do you mean accidents?"

“An accident is one of them, but I’ve always felt that there are no accidents. Before danger occurs, there will always be some signs. For a powerful person like Senior Brother Lu, as long as there are any clues, he will notice them. Once he notices them, he will strengthen his defenses. Ordinary accidents are not enough to threaten his life,” Rong Xie said.

Lu Yingqi nodded slightly, showing a rare hint of agreement with Rong Xie's words.

"This isn't an ordinary accident..." Xiaozhi couldn't think of anything else. "Then what could it be?"

“For example, a weakness.” Rong Xie looked at Xiao Zhi.

Lu Yingqi's usually calm eyes suddenly stirred.

"For example, even a good swimmer can drown," Rong Xie continued.

Xiaozhi remained bewildered, but Lu Yingqi was no longer as calm as before. He gently twirled his fingers on the table, lost in thought.

"People always die because of what they're proud of, or because of the people they love, because they're unprepared. If you're prepared, you won't make any big mistakes. The worst thing is to be unprepared," Rong Xie further explained.

Xiaozhi's mouth was half open, as if she understood but not quite.

Lu Yingqi pondered for a moment and said, "Junior Brother Rong's words are quite profound. With such enlightenment, how could you not be able to establish your foundation?"

“Perhaps, cultivation requires not only wisdom but also talent.” Rong Xie smiled, but there was something else he didn’t say: he had died once at the hands of someone he loved, which was why he had this realization.

"I still don't understand..." Xiaozhi asked weakly from the side, "To die at the hands of someone you like, but Brother Qi doesn't have anyone he likes. He cultivates the path of ruthlessness and has long since severed all feelings and love."

“This liking isn’t necessarily romantic love; it could also be familial love, friendship… Sometimes, the distinctions aren’t so clear-cut,” Rong Xie explained.

"Ah..." Xiaozhi's face turned pale again.

Seeing that Xiaozhi didn't say anything, Rong Xie continued to explain: "Even the best swimmers can drown. For Senior Brother Lu, his strengths are cultivation and swordsmanship. However, Senior Brother Lu has focused on seclusion for the past ten years and doesn't seem to care much about swordsmanship. It seems that he has changed the direction of his cultivation, from external skills to internal skills. In this case, not showing his face in public and being competitive can reduce the possibility of some accidents."

"..." Lu Yingqi remained noncommittal.

"However, there are also dangers in seclusion. The greatest danger is inner demons. Senior Brother Lu's realm is far higher than mine, so I cannot presume to speculate. But Senior Brother Lu cultivates the Path of Ruthlessness, which is a path of severing emotions and love. The easiest way to develop inner demons is when the roots of emotion have not been completely severed. I wonder if Senior Brother Lu has such a hidden danger in his cultivation?"

After Rong Xie finished speaking, he looked at Xiao Zhi, who let out another "Ah" and lowered her head.

“You don’t need to worry about that. I have already broken through to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm, and my emotional ties have long been severed. I am even stronger than Fellow Daoist Shen Bingsi,” Lu Yingqi said. “If he can live until the Heavenly Demon is born, so can I.”

Rong Xie was secretly shocked. He didn't expect Lu Yingqi to have broken through to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm. He remembered that Shen Bingsi had broken through to the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm a few years ago, and should now be between the early and middle stages.

Although there are only six cultivation realms, the Nascent Soul stage is the third. Only one in ten thousand cultivators can actually break through to the Nascent Soul stage. Further down the line, entering the Divine Transformation stage is even rarer. Among the three major sects, only a handful of old guys can reach this level.

As for the Integration Stage and the Dao Proving Stage, they are realms that exist only in legends. Perhaps a few reclusive masters can reach them, but they usually spend a hundred years in seclusion, and there are no rumors about them in the cultivation world.

Since Lu Yingqi said he wouldn't be bothered by emotions and his cultivation progress was very stable, then there's only one possibility left.

Rong Xie then turned his gaze back to Xiao Zhi.

Xiao Zhi's head drooped, looking listless. His hands were under the table, and judging from his movements, he was either twisting the hem of his clothes or rubbing his fingers, as if he had some conflicting thoughts fighting inside him.

Before Rong Xie could speak, Xiao Zhi spoke first, hesitantly: "If Brother Qi encounters an accident, it's because of me, I will take my own life first, and I will never hold Brother Qi back."

Xiaozhi spoke hesitantly, but her attitude was resolute, which startled Rong Xie.

The legend of vows of eternal love only exists in the oaths of ceremonies, and even a Daoist covenant cannot make people pledge their lives to each other. But Xiaozhi has now said such words directly, which makes Rong Xie feel as if a storybook has come true.

If it were him... he wouldn't be able to do that. Even if the world were about to be destroyed, he wouldn't be willing to prove his Dao for Shen Bingsi, let alone just save another person's life.

The world is so big and so wonderful. To be born as a human being, to have eyes to see, ears to hear, and the five senses and six perceptions to experience is such a wonderful thing. To give up all of this for another person is something he would never be willing to do.

Therefore, when Xiaozhi said these words, Rong Xie was shocked—a shock that was incomprehensible to him.

The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

Lu Yingqi glanced at Xiaozhi, his expression still indifferent: "As long as you don't leave Xuantian Sect and stay by my side, this kind of thing won't happen."

Xiaozhi lowered her head and gave a soft "hmm".

Rong Xie was once again shocked by their conversation.

Is this the late-stage Nascent Soul realm of the Ruthless Path? Someone told him they were willing to die for him and would never hold him back, and he just said, "As long as you don't leave the Xuantian Sect, this won't happen."

If Xiaozhi doesn't leave the Xuantian Sect and stay by Lu Yingqi's side, then when Lu Yingqi goes into seclusion to cultivate, wouldn't she be limited to the Xuantian Sect? I heard they have some kind of Ruthless Dao Palace, which is full of Ruthless Dao cultivators. Xiaozhi doesn't cultivate that, so she'll just waste her time there, wasting away for ten or eight years. When she comes out, she won't even have basic communication skills...

Rong Xie couldn't help but think that if Shen Bingsi treated him like that, he would kick her aside without hesitation.

It seems that Lu Yingqi has truly severed all ties of affection, leaving not even a trace.

"Senior Brother Lu, to put it bluntly, are you sure Xiaozhi can stay in the Xuantian Sect indefinitely?" Rong Xie reminded him. "He has a Gu poison planted on him by the Lu family. I don't know what it is, but let's just call it a Gu. That thing can remotely control him. If the Lu family suddenly decides to send him back, can he resist?"

At this question, both Xiaozhi and Lu Yingqi fell silent.

If threatened by outsiders, Xiaozhi could indeed commit suicide. But what if the threat comes from the Lu family? If the Lu family can remotely control Xiaoya and prevent him from cultivating, then remotely controlling Xiaozhi and making him leave the Xuantian Sect is not impossible.

When Xiaozhi falls out of Lu Yingqi's wing and encounters danger, wouldn't that be equivalent to having Lu Yingqi's weakness in the bag?

Of course, there's another possibility: Lu Yingqi simply doesn't care whether Xiaozhi lives or dies...

"What you said makes a lot of sense; that's something I hadn't thought of."

Fortunately, Lu Yingqi hadn't lost his humanity to that extent. Although the Path of Ruthlessness was somewhat ruthless, it was still the righteous path. Unless it was an extreme situation like the destruction of the world by a heavenly demon, cultivators of the Path of Ruthlessness would still care about the lives of those around them.

"Junior Brother Rong, what do you think we should do?" Lu Yingqi asked.

“Sever the connection between Xiaozhi and the Lu family, and destroy that method of control,” Rong Xie said solemnly. “Only in this way can we fundamentally eliminate the hidden danger.”

Rong Xie had wanted to do this for a long time, but he lacked the strength, resources, and connections to hire someone to do it. Shen Bingsi was a good tool, but not a tool now. After all, Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi were in a cooling-off period and had to keep their distance. If Shen Bingsi knew that he was still so useful, wouldn't she be clinging to Rong Xie every day? All the efforts Rong Xie had put into starting a new life would have been in vain.

Now, as he talked with Lu Yingqi, his thoughts were gradually becoming clearer. Rong Xie realized that this matter should have been left to Lu Yingqi in the first place. If Lu Yingqi valued Xiaozhi enough, even if he didn't believe in the great calamity Rong Xie mentioned, he would still do it for Xiaozhi.

"..."

However, Rong Xie miscalculated; Lu Yingqi did not answer him immediately.

Whether it was because he didn't believe his prediction or because he didn't want to fall out with the Lu family, Lu Yingqi remained silent.

Lu Yingqi remained silent, and Xiaozhi was also speechless, simply staring blankly in sadness.

The conversation reached an impasse.

After sitting quietly with the two for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Rong Xie glanced at the sky and realized it was getting late; he still had to catch his carriage back.

Ever since being abandoned on the beach by Shen Bingsi, Rong Xie knew that he had to take care of his own transportation and couldn't rely on others.

He got up from the table and reassured the two that there was no need to rush into a decision; they could think it over first, and if they came to a decision, they could contact him anytime.

Rong Xie left the Chongyuetai Restaurant, got into a carriage, and headed back to Lanyuan.

He thought a lot on the way.

If ten years ago, Lu Yingqi did not have the intention to rebel against the Lu family when faced with the tragic fate of Xiao Ya, and even persuaded Lu Yinglin to accept it, then why would he rebel against his own family ten years later because of the prophecy of a stranger like Rong Xie?

It seems that Lu Yingqi's path is also bleak.

However, Rong Xie's analysis was correct. Xiao Zhi was controlled by the Lu family, which was the biggest hidden danger he could see. In order to save Lu Yingqi's life and to keep him until the end, Rong Xie had to find a way to deal with the Lu family's affairs himself.

It's time to start planning to investigate the Lu family's "well" and rescue the servant boy.

A plan formed in Rong Xie's mind: an adventurous team, and the sudden surge in wealth and gratitude they would receive after successfully discovering the treasure of the King of Ru Nan.

If he could make good use of this resource, perhaps he wouldn't need to passively wait for Lu Yingqi's reply.