Chapter 9: An officially licensed, first-release novel of unknown origin...
But then a boisterous voice called out from the courtyard, "Junior Brother Yu! Junior Brother Ling! Are you alright?!"
Then Ling Yue gently nudged Yu Xiao's shoulder, forcing Yu Xiao to look at him. "I sent a talisman requesting reinforcements into the sect. Senior Brother should be here now. Say hello to him." (lip movements)
The senior brother Ling Yue mentioned was named Ji Huaimin. He was a moderate man who was the eldest son of the Human Emperor before entering the Dao. He dressed as a Confucian scholar for many years.
Yu Xiao was slightly tempted.
In front of this nobleman, it would be impolite and dangerous to indulge in the sea of consciousness, so Yu Xiao stopped caring about the so-called binding process and, with a thought, disconnected himself from the system.
The system is furious.
Unexpectedly, Yu Xiao was just a mortal, yet his soul was extremely powerful. He was able to sever the connection with it without suffering any backlash. In addition, the energy that had been injected into his body would mysteriously disappear. This guy probably has many secrets that even he himself doesn't know.
This is a perfect example of how extreme joy can turn to sorrow. If the system had legs, it would probably be so angry that it would jump up and down in a frenzy!
Unfortunately, the system had no legs, so it could only cower in the shadows in a corner of Yu Xiao's mind, continuing to brew a new plan that could persuade Yu Xiao to bind with it.
When Yu Xiao finally managed to greet Ji Huaimin, Ling Yue was dragging his precious sword case, fumbling to retrieve the sword that had fallen to the ground, while simultaneously making hand seals as if communicating telepathically with Ji Huaimin.
Ji Huaimin used a white silk ribbon to wrap all the corpses on the ground and store them in a storage artifact. He did this with ease, and his Confucian scholar's robe, which was inlaid with gold thread, was not stained with a single drop of blood or dust.
This is the advantage of being a cultivator. Yu Xiao thought.
He felt he should do something, so he wrung out his wet clothes, handed the outer garment containing the ashes to Ji Huaimin, and tried to help Ling Yue carry the sword box.
It wasn't mentioned.
Yu Xiao stood there, rubbing the marks left by Ling Yue's writing on her palm, and belatedly felt a splitting headache.
Because he was only a mortal, he could not talk to Ling Yue, who had lost his senses, and he couldn't even carry a box for Ling Yue.
The difference between immortals and mortals is greater than the difference between humans and dogs.
In the end, Yu Xiao didn't fall to the ground. It was Ling Yue who put away the sword box and helped him up. "It's okay, it's okay, here's some candy..." (lip movements)
The cool honey water melted in Yu Xiao's mouth, making him more awake.
Ling Yue fed Yu Xiao a plum preserved in sugar, mouth to mouth; it tasted just like it did five years ago.
The medicine was useless for Yu Xiao, who had an empty spiritual root. The plum candy that Ling Yue made was just an ordinary snack, but it made Yu Xiao feel much better.
After recovering, Yu Xiaochao cupped his hands in greeting to Ji Huaimin, saying, "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Senior Brother."
Ling Yue also said something to Ji Huaimin.
Ji Huaimin, who was cleaning up the battlefield, looked disgusted, her face clearly saying, "So I was just another part of your game too?" But she enthusiastically responded to Ling Yue's telepathic message, "Ling Yue, how dare you! You dare criticize me?! Do you know you'll lose the friendship of the Lingxiao Dynasty?"
He cursed Ling Yue, but smiled kindly at Yu Xiao, "Junior Brother Yu..."
Before he could finish speaking, Ji Huaimin slipped and fell face down on the ground, leaving a human-shaped crater. When he got up, he was in a very disheveled state, no longer the aloof young master he had been before.
With him in comparison, Yu Xiao didn't seem so down on her luck.
Ji Huaimin is only a hundred years old, yet he already has a fifth-level cultivation level. He is a rare young talent, and cultivators outside would respectfully call him "Master Ji". How could such a genius fall down on flat ground...? Perhaps he did it on purpose?
Ling Yue, holding Yu Xiao's arm and covering his mouth, was rarely amused. "Look, Senior Brother is so funny! Laugh at him too, don't be sad." (lip movements)
Ji Huaimin was furious: "Ling Yue!"
A silent war of words ensued between the cultivators.
Yu Xiao was infected by the two of them and wanted to laugh, but then suddenly realized that the system said Ling Yue was about to die, so why did he still have the energy to argue with Ji Huaimin?
So Yu Xiao asked Ji Huaimin, "Yueyue has lost four of his five senses except for touch. If we don't take him back to the sect for treatment soon, won't it cause problems?"
Ji Huaimin asked curiously, "What problem could there be? Before the Lone Star Sword disciple reached the third level of cultivation, he lost his five senses due to emotional fluctuations. It looked terrifying, but it didn't cause much damage to his body. He just needed to rest. It's different from what happened when Uncle Bai was at the ninth level of cultivation and suffered a backlash."
Furthermore, Senior Sister Yu is now a Saint of Alchemy. Unless she is instantly killed or attacked by a Quasi-Saint or higher, what injury can't she heal... Junior Brother Yu, your expression is terrifying, I'm scared."
Ji Huaimin thought Yu Xiao suspected him of bullying Ling Yue, so he quickly tried to prove his innocence, "You can rest assured, you don't know what Junior Brother Ling has been up to all these years. He's always the one bullying others, never the other way around!"
Ling Yue blinked, conveying the message, "No, I didn't. I'm just a taciturn person who isn't good with words."
Yu Xiao raised her hand and pinched her brow. "Senior Brother must be seeing things."
Ji Huaimin looked closely and saw that Yu Xiao was still the same gentle and kind person he remembered, without a trace of ruthlessness. He couldn't help but mutter, "How strange."
Yu Xiao was indeed somewhat angry, not at Ling Yue or Ji Huaimin, but at the system.
The system deceived Yu Xiao by taking advantage of his ignorance about cultivators and his concern for Ling Yue.
If he had taken Ling Yue seriously enough, he might have fallen into the system's trap...
Yu Xiao tried to get an explanation from what was hidden in his mind, "System?"
The system is frozen.
A dark look flashed in Yu Xiao's eyes, and she secretly noted this debt down.
Meanwhile, Ji Huaimin finally finished cleaning up the corpses and evidence scattered on the ground. "I've taken a quick look, and these guys seem to have some connections. It's not safe in Wenjian City right now, so you must return to your sect."
Ji Huaimin specifically said "you," implying that he planned to take Yu Xiao and Ling Yue with him.
Before Yu Xiao could even voice her objections, she was swept into Ji Huaimin's flying boat and embarked on the journey back to the Wuji Sword Sect.
...
At the summit of Lone Star Peak, there was no wind, and the view was excellent.
Holding the clairvoyant eyes enhanced with spiritual power, Yu Xiao carefully observed the scene of everyone practicing swordsmanship in the Tai'a Peak training ground next door. He placed Xuan paper on his cross-legged legs and moved the charcoal pencil in his hand quickly as he practiced sketching.
Every cultivator practicing swordsmanship is Yu Xiao's model.
Yu Xiao didn't understand swordsmanship, but when he was sketching sword moves, he used the basic sketching skills he had learned in his painting class, focusing on accurate form. Unlike the ancients who preferred freehand and elegant style, he was able to record everything he saw in quick sketches.
When Ji Huaimin brought Ling Yue back to the Wuji Sword Sect that day, Bai Hongke was in seclusion. Yu Xuan'er took a look at Ling Yue's injuries and also took him into seclusion to heal.
So Yu Xiao was left alone outside Lone Star Peak. He didn't need to sell paintings to make a living, and instead couldn't stay idle, so he found some paper and pen and finished the previous backlog of orders. He also planned to paint some portraits of cultivators and sell them in Wenjian City after he went down the mountain.
Then, Yu Xiao was surrounded by enthusiastic fellow disciples on her way to gather materials.
Not only did he receive all sorts of warm greetings, but he was also given snacks and elixirs. Several middle-aged female students whose names Yu Xiao couldn't recall even took the opportunity to pinch his face and hands.
Yu Xiao expressed her protest in a tactful way, but it was ruthlessly suppressed by her senior sisters.
They said matter-of-factly, "No matter how old Junior Brother Yu gets, he will always be everyone's baby. Besides, even if you differentiate into a Qian Yuan, you will still be especially cute."
Unable to persuade them otherwise, Yu Xiao had no choice but to use her trump card: "Mother, Father! Why are you here?"
With the arrival of a sage or near-sage, everyone naturally rushed to pay their respects, and Yu Xiao took advantage of the chaos to slip away.
Even after Yu Xiao had run far away, you could still faintly hear someone complaining, "Hey, you little brat, why are you lying?" There was no resentment, only helplessness.
Regardless of whether they cultivate the ruthless path, most sword cultivators regard their natal sword as their Dao partner, and very few actually marry it. Furthermore, as a cultivator's cultivation level increases, their probability of having children also drops sharply.
Counting back thousands of years, Yu Xiao was the only infant born within the Wuji Sword Sect. He was watched grow up by everyone in the sect, which explains why everyone loved him.
When Yu Xiao was young, he had Ling Yue, who was even more delicate and refined than him, to share the burden of the elders. But later, Ling Yue grew taller and stronger. He was still beautiful, but because he cultivated the Lone Star Sword, his personality became cold, which eventually created a barrier between him and others. So, the only one who was pampered and spoiled every day was Yu Xiao.
The past is gone.
After being surrounded once, Yu Xiao learned her lesson and used her telescope again when gathering information, and sure enough, she was not disturbed again.
Although it wasn't cold up there, as the sun rose higher, sweat dripped from Yu Xiao's forehead, seeping into the traces of her charcoal drawing and blurring into ink-colored flowers.
I can still manage for a while, and finish this painting. Yu Xiao set a clear goal for herself.
Suddenly, the umbrella-shaped shade blocked the sunlight from Yu Xiao's head. "Next time you're sketching on a sunny day, you can bring an umbrella. You can't stand in the sun for too long."
When Bai Hongke left the pass this time, he was still emaciated and looked ill, and he was still carrying the jade gourd that was said to contain endless wine.
No one here will find Yu Xiao, except for the other three who live on Lone Star Peak.
"Father." Yu Xiao stood up to pay her respects, but Bai Hongke pressed her shoulder down and made her sit down with him.
When father and son reunited, Bai Hongke's voice was icy cold: "Ling Yue is fine."
Yu Xiao nodded, "Mother and my eldest brother have already told me. Hey, Father, what kind of wine are you drinking? Give it to me..."
Before he finished speaking, the wine jar appeared beside Yu Xiao.
Yu Xiao picked it up, gulped down a large mouthful, and before she could even savor it, gave a thumbs up, exclaiming, "Good wine!"
Although both are Qian Yuan, Bai Hongke and Yu Xiao are not like ordinary father and son who are at odds, but have entered into a relationship much earlier.
Upon receiving praise from his son, Bai Hongke's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile.
Although the Lone Star Sword Ancestor did not force his disciples to sever all emotions and love, the disciples maintained a calm demeanor year-round to prevent backlash, resulting in expressionless faces and tranquil minds, which was almost the same as practicing the Path of Heartlessness. When Yu Xiao communicated with Bai Hongke, it was usually difficult for him to guess what his taciturn father was thinking.
Yu Xiao couldn't help but shudder when she thought about how Ling Yue might also end up with a deadpan face.
A person without vitality is hardly alive! Besides, Ling Yue is so adorable, how could he become expressionless?
If only I could keep watching him, and let him… Unfortunately, I won’t live to see that day.
While Yu Xiao was lost in thought, Bai Hongke told him the purpose of his visit: "I personally examined the bodies of those assassins. Nine of them had fatal wounds from Ling Yue's sword, but the ashes of the one who was burned to death by Yin Ran Huo contained spiritual power."
When a cultivator dies, their spiritual energy returns to the world, leaving only their mortal bones. Therefore, the unfamiliar spiritual energy in the ashes could only have come from the killer.
Bai Hongke put down the wine pot, a hint of expectation appearing on his usually calm and composed face. "Have you figured something out?"
Yu Xiao drank the wine in the jar in one gulp. "No."
Bai Hongke had received similar answers many times over the past decade, so he did not show any disappointment. "There will be opportunities in the future."
The cold man spoke slowly, trying his best to make his tone sound calm, "But you must remember, you can walk the unorthodox path, but you must not touch the evil path, and do not easily trust others."
Yu Xiao took the wine jar, held it up, and smiled, a dimple appearing on the left corner of her mouth. "I understand, thank you, Father."
The strange weapon that suddenly appeared in his hand when his life was hanging by a thread, Yu Xiao still can't confirm what it is. It's not that he's intentionally hiding it, but that he doesn't want to see his parents disappointed again.
Although they never gave up on him.
Ling Yue said that Yu Xuan'er was refining the Spirit Cultivation Pill, probably because she was trying to figure out a formula that would allow her to enter the Dao? That's why she cried after failing.
Yu Xuan'er is a very strong female Qian Yuan; otherwise, even with the protagonist's halo, she wouldn't have been able to cultivate to the Saint Realm.
But every time she saw the possibility of Yu Xiao's cultivation, only to have her hopes dashed in the end, she would cry very sadly.
On another occasion, Bai Hongke didn't notice Yu Xuan'er crying in time, and only belatedly wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes after a long while. "Xuan'er, are you crying again? I'm sorry, I can't hear you right now..."
The backlash from the Lone Star Sword, which was at the Quasi-Saint level, was no small matter. After that, Bai Hongke went into seclusion for a full year.
As Yu Xiao grew older, he felt more and more that he was just taking a debt from his parents, so he chose to leave the Wuji Sword Sect.
Yu Xuan'er and Bai Hongke are renowned figures in the cultivation world, with enemies all over the world. Even if Yu Xiao leaves the cage of the Wuji Sword Sect, her activities are limited to the area within Wenjian City.
However, for Yu Xiao, having a shop where she can paint freely is enough.
Yu Xiao even optimistically thought that since there had been legends of "heretical paths" in the cultivation world since ancient times, who knows, maybe one day while she was painting, she would be able to draw qi into her body?
Although he had run a calligraphy and painting shop for five years, there was still no sign of him achieving enlightenment through painting. His only progress was that he could make a living with this craft.
Yu Xiao was completely absorbed in painting and did not notice that Bai Hongke had silently accompanied him for a while before leaving, disappearing without a trace.
[You're delusional.] The system suddenly spoke up, [There are very few precedents for those with ethereal spiritual roots successfully cultivating outside the Dao. Even those few legendary cultivators who achieved sainthood with ethereal spiritual roots were mostly not actually with ethereal spiritual roots. Unlike the system...]
Yu Xiao laughed, "Finally willing to come out? Perfect, I still have a score to settle with you."
After a few days of silence, the system, now even more shameless, announced: "Host, you've misunderstood what the system and you said."
A small ball of light floated out from Yu Xiao's forehead, circling mischievously around him. [The host just tried to reveal the system to the original male lead? Unfortunately, the system is a creation from a higher-dimensional world; neither the original male and female leads nor any other character could possibly detect its existence.]
Yu Xiao shook her head, "I will use my own strength to make you—or all of you—pay the price."
...
The radio broadcasts began to be interspersed with irregular electronic music.
Yu Xiao tried to change the frequency, but could no longer receive the novel.
Just then, the self-driving car stopped in the company's underground parking garage.
Yu Xiao did not get off the car immediately, but sat in her seat and closed her eyes to concentrate.
He thought, "I really am very similar to Yu Xiao, the ordinary person in the story who values the path to immortality more than Ling Yue."
Love is all an illusion; only work makes Yu Xiao feel her real existence.
...
A note from the author:
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The next chapter continues from the first world~
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