Qi Yi was overwhelmed by the scene he’d just witnessed. No man could endure seeing his beloved murdered, the killer right beside him, and himself doing nothing.
Controlling what strength he could, he pulled out the dagger he had long prepared, and with the determination to die together with the man who killed his wife, thrust it at his own heart.
“No! Brother Yi!” Little Yan’s voice rang out behind him, sharp with grief.
Gu Baiqing darted forward, seizing Qi Yi’s wrist.
But Qi Yi’s death wish drove his condition into collapse—Mo Xuanli’s seal could no longer restrain Xue Bin. Li Xiuran, at a loss, slammed a hand onto Mo Xuanli’s shoulder. “Take my spiritual power—force it together!”
It was desperation, but unexpectedly the two meshed perfectly, jointly pressing the demonization back.
At that moment, Little Yan suddenly appeared before everyone’s eyes and flung herself into Qi Yi’s body. Though she still passed through, under the added force of Mo Xuanli and Li Xiuran’s powers she dragged Xue Bin out.
Qi Yi felt a sudden lightness, his body free. He turned—sure enough, he saw Xue Bin’s form. This was the man who murdered Little Yan. No matter how terrifying, he raised his dagger. His hatred… his hatred burned—
Qi Yi slashed down with all his might.
A mortal’s blade could never wound a demon, at most cause a scratch. But… what if two cultivators’ power was flowing into him?
The instant the dagger pierced Xue Bin, flames erupted and burned across his body.
Gradually, the demonic features faded from Xue Bin. His eyes no longer held madness.
He stared blankly at them, dazed, as though unsure what had happened. At last, with weary resignation, he closed his eyes. Like ashes scattered to the wind, he crumbled.
Perhaps for him, too, this was a release—for the consciousness that was still Xue Bin hadn’t known what he was doing.
With the demon’s demise, the illusion collapsed.
In an instant they were back on the street. Time hadn’t passed long; scattered people were still hesitantly watching from afar.
Qi Yi clutched the dagger, trembling. “Revenge… I avenged Little Yan, I…” He dropped to his knees, tilted his head to the sky, and howled, finally breaking into sobs.
The others couldn’t see—but Little Yan knelt beside him, crying with him. She watched him finally faint, and when she tried to catch him, her hands slipped through.
“Miss Little Yan…” Ji Chuling stepped forward, wanting to comfort her.
But Little Yan only looked up, asking, “Brother Yi is just a mortal. He won’t be harmed, will he?”
“No, he’ll be fine,” Ji Chuling said.
Relieved, Little Yan suddenly stiffened as the faint sound of chains drifted in.
Her expression shifted. “I remember this sound… I… have to go.”
The air around them grew heavy—time for her to return to the underworld.
Lowering her gaze to Qi Yi on the ground, Little Yan slowly bent, kissed his forehead, and then floated upward, fading away.
“Brother Yi… live well… in the next life, come marry me.”
Perhaps because stories always end like this—the sky began to rain.
Little Yan vanished quietly, going to where she belonged, awaiting reincarnation. And Qi Yi, never once seeing her, let rain pour over his face—like tears.
Gu Baiqing stepped forward to lift Qi Yi, to get him under cover. But as he moved, he realized no rain was falling on his head.
Looking up, he saw it: a familiar parasol patterned in silver ink-wash, a red cord tied at the handle.
“Brother, here.”
Mo Xuanli forcefully shoved God Nine Transformations into Gu Baiqing’s hands, then rushed out into the rain himself to help support Qi Yi.
Three Bean hopped onto Gu Baiqing’s shoulder and rubbed against him. “Master, Xuanli was watching you the whole time just now. He seemed really worried. Are you still angry with him?”
Gu Baiqing didn’t answer, but felt an itch where his hand was holding. Looking down, sure enough—it was that little thing God Nine Transformations. Its red cord had stretched out, weakly twining around his fingers and wrist, looking wilted but still trying to curry favor.
Still somewhat displeased, Gu Baiqing reached out to pull the red cord away. But the cord only flopped back against him, not daring to wrap around again, just rubbing against him nonstop, just like Three Bean.
The rain grew heavier. Mo Xuanli was half-carrying Qi Yi when he suddenly felt his head lighten—no raindrops. His heart stirred; he turned, and sure enough, saw a black figure.
Gu Baiqing was holding an umbrella, his head tilted toward Li Xiuran’s side as if saying something to them—but Mo Xuanli could no longer hear.
All he saw—all he felt—was his master chasing after him to hold an umbrella for him. His eyes flicked down, and the red cord of God Nine Transformations was now tightly wrapped like a bracelet around his master’s pale wrist. Master… maybe wasn’t so angry anymore.
Li Xiuran stayed behind to clean up the mess. After all, this was the mortal realm—cultivators couldn’t just act without consequence. Someone had to arrange cleanup, pay compensation where due.
The others went into the inn. People had seen the chaos on the street—though no one had truly seen what happened, there was still pointing and gossip. Luckily, Mo Xuanli had long shed the bridal robes he’d been wearing. Now, clad in plain white, he didn’t look so out of place, and they were let in.
Just as they were drying off and catching their breath, Li Xiuran hurried in.
“The City Lord sent people to fetch us,” Li Xiuran said briefly.
“He didn’t show up when there was trouble, but now he comes running? Does he know what we did?” Ji Chuling scoffed. He held deep contempt for cultivators who let a lowly demon rampage and harm mortals unchecked.
“Maybe it’s for the demons. Maybe it’s for…” Li Xiuran’s gaze flicked toward Mo Xuanli. “The spirit vein.”
Mo Xuanli froze. He understood. Li Xiuran must have come with that in mind too. Still, they weren’t really rivals—it was such a vast spirit vein, no one could take it all. At most, they’d each find something suitable for themselves.
When Qi Yi’s servants finally arrived, Ji Chuling gave them a few instructions on dispelling yin and demonic energy before letting them take Qi Yi away. Their fates together ended there. Hopefully Qi Yi could live well in the future.
The four of them boarded the carriage the City Lord had arranged, bound for the City Lord’s manor.
Ji Chuling and Li Xiuran kept up a lively conversation inside. Gu Baiqing, however, stayed quiet.
Mo Xuanli sat restlessly, stealing glances at his master from the corner of his eye.
Sitting opposite, Li Xiuran took everything in. He couldn’t help but feel—these two didn’t act like brothers at all.
“Brother, are you tired…?”
“Brother, are you thirsty…?”
“Brother…”
Gu Baiqing was lost in thought, seemingly pondering something, until Three Bean smacked a paw against him. “Xuanli’s calling you.”
Startled, Gu Baiqing turned his head—and sure enough, in the time he’d been lost in thought, his disciple’s face had clouded like storm clouds.
“What is it?”
“Brother, are you still angry with me? I was wrong, Brother. From now on, I’ll never act on my own. Whatever decision, I’ll tell you first, I…” Mo Xuanli, flustered and uneasy, didn’t care about pride anymore. In front of others, he directly began apologizing and begging forgiveness.
Li Xiuran and Ji Chuling were stunned. This Mo Xuanli was just like a dog they’d seen the other day—one that had made a mistake, about to be cast out by its master.
Gu Baiqing, too, was dumbfounded. He had only ignored him briefly. At first, yes, he’d been a little angry—but Mo Xuanli hadn’t known entering the illusion would endanger his body like that. Could he really be blamed? Gu Baiqing wasn’t unreasonable. The anger in his chest had long ebbed away.
The truth was, he hadn’t been sulking at his disciple—he’d just been thinking.
Thinking about the City Lord.
Because in the original story, the City Lord never appeared—he stayed behind closed doors. After master and disciple dealt with Xue Bin, they went straight to the spirit vein. There, thanks to the protagonist’s halo, they found the spirit crystal suited to Mo Xuanli. With the wild vein’s energy, he directly advanced to the Golden Core stage on the spot.
But now, though Xue Bin had been dealt with the same way, why had this City Lord appeared and invited them?
The butterfly effect felt troublesome. If things kept diverging like this, Gu Baiqing worried that his “knowledge of the future” golden finger would be useless. Depressing.
He looked at his foolish disciple before him—face full of sorrow, as though the sky were falling. Boy, you don’t know what real troubles are.
But under those pitiful eyes, Gu Baiqing felt uneasy. “I’m not angry anymore, truly. I was just thinking about this City Lord matter.”
He deliberately softened his tone, and Mo Xuanli felt it, finally relaxing.
“You two brothers are really something. So affectionate, so harmonious.” Ji Chuling chuckled. “Speaking of the City Lord… Li Xiuran, didn’t you tell me before? That City Lord Zhuo Ling and Elder Luofeng are love rivals. When you meet him later…”
Ji Chuling winked at Mo Xuanli—but the one casual line fell like thunder.
Li Xiuran immediately sat bolt upright, full of regret. He really had mentioned this gossip casually to Ji Chuling when they first arrived in Star-Stepping City. But he hadn’t expected to run into Mo Xuanli—or for Ji Chuling to blurt it out in front of him.
Not that it was offensive to his master—after all, it was just trivial gossip. By Mo Xuanli’s temperament, he wouldn’t take offense at such a thing.
But Li Xiuran still remembered the incident in the secret realm. To this day, he still couldn’t make sense of that master-disciple pair’s relationship.
What if it really was… and saying “love rivals” right in front of him—wasn’t that just asking for trouble?
Mo Xuanli, baffled: “What? Love… rivals?”
Gu Baiqing: …It’s not, okay!
Li Xiuran tried to patch things up: “Well, supposedly the current City Lord is already married… things from back then are better left unmentioned, hahaha…” Li Xiuran was a little surprised that Mo Xuanli didn’t know, but thinking about it, it made sense. How could… people with that kind of relationship suddenly bring up their past? Naturally, it was better left unsaid.
In truth, Li Xiuran had misunderstood. It was entirely because the people of Zixiao Sect didn’t dare gossip too much about Gu Baiqing, and since this Star-Stepping City trip had been so rushed, no one had time to fill Mo Xuanli in.
Mo Xuanli stole a startled glance at his master. Love rivals? Wait… Master said he came here on business—could it really have something to do with this City Lord?
“What love rivals? Rivals for whom?” Mo Xuanli’s tone suddenly turned serious.
Li Xiuran: This… this has to be jealousy. So it is that kind of relationship?!
“It was Fairy Ruiyao, of course. Haven’t you heard of her?”
Mo Xuanli’s tone instantly lightened. “Oh, her. I’ve heard of her. But Master doesn’t like her, has nothing to do with her. So it’s that Zhuo Ling liked Fairy Ruiyao and one-sidedly treated my Master as a rival, right?”
“Uh… yes, you’re right.” Li Xiuran couldn’t help but chuckle. “Back before Zhuo Ling became City Lord here, he admired Fairy Ruiyao and pursued her passionately. When he learned she had rejected him, he got furious and ran to Zixiao Sect to challenge your Master. But before he even met him, he was beaten down. Zhuo Ling was still young then, proud and unwilling to admit defeat, so even dragging his injuries he swore he’d challenge your Master again one day.”
Strictly speaking, what he said was that he’d beat him up, but afterward Zhuo Ling went back home and inherited his family’s responsibilities, so they hardly counted as acquaintances—just had that one brush of connection.
Hearing this, Mo Xuanli furrowed his brows, clearly displeased.
“Then… could he make things difficult for Little Mo later?” Ji Chuling spoke up loyally. “Anyway, I’ll side with Little Mo. I don’t like this Zhuo Ling.”
“He probably won’t,” Li Xiuran said. “After all, he’s already married. It’s said he took a frail and sickly wife, so he often goes into seclusion to care for her. He’s a deeply devoted man.”
This bit of information was accurate; the original story also glossed over it. So the accepted explanation was that he was tied up caring for his wife, too busy to handle the demon beast issue properly—though to Gu Baiqing, the logic felt flimsy.
Ji Chuling, hearing such a romantic tale, couldn’t help her surge of sympathy. “So that’s how it is… but still, he shouldn’t neglect the people.”
“It’s not just the demons in the city. Even that spirit vein, priceless in other people’s eyes, he hasn’t bothered with,” Li Xiuran said with a laugh, then generously shared what he had pried out beforehand with Mo Xuanli.
“Have you heard? This wild spirit vein, though unearthed in Star-Stepping City, Zhuo Ling has no intention of exploiting. He just set up some mortals to guard it, charges a small fee at the entrance, hires locals to mine spirit stones—counts as giving them livelihood. Beyond that, he does nothing, as if the wild spirit vein held no value for him at all.”
Since Li Xiuran was so open, Mo Xuanli didn’t hold back either. Some news had already reached Hong Xian through the Outer Affairs Elder, so they had some idea.
“He’s not doing nothing. He can’t,” Mo Xuanli said.
“Oh?” Li Xiuran looked at him with interest.
“Why not?” Ji Chuling asked in puzzlement.
Mo Xuanli explained: “That’s his cleverness. After all, a wild spirit vein like this could support the founding of a sect. If he hoarded it for himself, he’d certainly be targeted by ambitious forces—his city would be destroyed, seized by force. But if he only collects trivial gold and silver that cultivators disdain, and leaves it semi-open for all cultivators to share, then it’s safest for him. They’ll watch each other. Or if a great sect decides to peacefully take over, Star-Stepping City will truly be secure.”
“Haha, heroes think alike.” Li Xiuran was delighted, feeling an unusual rapport with Mo Xuanli, their thoughts always aligned.
And in fact, the possibility Mo Xuanli described was exactly what happened in the original story.
The one who ultimately took over the wild spirit vein was naturally Mo Xuanli himself. At that time, his Master, worn out from the abundant energy of his newly-advanced Golden Core disciple, had fallen asleep in the inn. Mo Xuanli had taken the chance to meet the City Lord, discussed it, and left.
Since by then it was already clear the wild vein only held spirit stones—not many, with spirit crystals long exhausted—there was no need to fight over it.
With Zixiao Sect as backing, being a direct disciple of Yi Pavilion, he had the standing to buy it outright. So in the end, Mo Xuanli became master of the wild mountain vein.
That was the start of his path to wealth.
The group chatted as their carriage finally entered the City Lord’s manor.
Meanwhile, atop the highest tower of the estate, a graceful woman in a flowing water-blue gown, holding a blue-and-white paper parasol, her face veiled, stood frowning as she gazed down at the carriage.
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