Wait.
Another memory surfaced in Li Zhaoye’s mind.
This time, it wasn’t from the "past"—it was fresh.
On that bed in the divine palace, her thoughts had been deafening—jade, burning, spring, pleasure, allure, indulgence, beasts.
Thoughts of Li Zhaoye turning into a vengeful ghost, biting through her skin, fangs sinking into flesh, gripping her painfully, shaking her, slamming into her, tearing her apart…
"Tsk! You really dare to imagine!"
So, he had already read those books before, and so had she. He’d forgotten everything, but she remembered.
So now, she knew more than he did—how could he tolerate that?
Li Zhaoye swayed dizzily before collapsing onto the edge of the bed, glaring down at her.
She looked utterly docile in her sleep, unbearably well-behaved.
Her skin was like powdered sugar, her lips like rose candy, her hands resting on her abdomen like a pair of white jade orchids emerging from water.
Just by appearances, no one would guess she was a sword maniac, a ruthless character who’d tear out hearts barehanded. Even less could they imagine that such a tiny head could hold so much filthy imagination.
He clicked his tongue silently, reaching out to pat her head lightly.
This one—seemingly deep in sleep, yet never at peace in her dreams.
One moment crying, the next begging to be held, then demanding kisses.
"Thinking about me all day long."
He narrowed his eyes, lost in thought for a moment, then drew out Changtian, tapping it lightly with his fingertips before slipping it back into her sword repository.
"Keep an eye on her. She’s recovering—make sure she daydreams less."
Changtian let out a confused hum.
Did it even have that capability?
Xu Junzhu sought out Master Lingxue.
"Master," Xu Junzhu said frankly, "I suspect the person by Luo Luo’s side is none other than Senior Brother Li Zhaoye himself. I’ve observed them for some time and even tested him—the resemblance is uncanny. And Luo Luo’s attitude toward him is exactly the same as before."
Master Lingxue lowered her gaze, silent, as if lost in thought.
When no response came, Xu Junzhu looked up, slightly startled. "Master?"
This was the first time she’d seen her master wear such an expression.
After a long pause, Master Lingxue’s eyes flickered, but what she said next was entirely unrelated. "What did you think of Luo Luo’s sword strike?"
Xu Junzhu straightened, answering solemnly, "That was not a technique from our sect. For a disciple to learn from outsiders violates Sect Rule Thirty—"
Master Lingxue raised a hand to cut her off. She glanced at her prized student and sighed. "Have you spent so long with me that you’ve turned into a walking rulebook?"
Xu Junzhu was even more stunned.
Her master—joking?!
"Master," Xu Junzhu said carefully, her pupils trembling, "before your departure, you entrusted me with a highly confidential message. Could you repeat it?"
Master Lingxue: "…I have not been body-snatched."
To think her own disciple would suspect her.
Xu Junzhu stubbornly stared at her master. "Say it."
Master Lingxue sighed. "I only gave you instructions—nothing confidential."
Xu Junzhu exhaled in relief.
After a moment’s thought, she answered her master’s earlier question earnestly. "Luo Luo’s sword strike was extraordinary. My skills are lacking—I couldn’t discern its origins at all."
Master Lingxue gave a slight nod, inwardly sighing.
The moment that sword had been unleashed, she’d noticed Qing Xu’s pupils constrict in the distance, his presence vanishing as if facing a dire threat.
That wasn’t normal.
So… had Qing Xu encountered—or faced—such a sword before?
Master Lingxue’s aura darkened. "Qing Xu and I will return to the sect first. Once Luo Luo has recovered somewhat, you should depart as well." She paused. "Take good care of Luo Luo. If that man beside her truly is Li Zhaoye, the sect will give him an answer."
Xu Junzhu bowed. "Understood."
"And the matter of the sect rules—leave it for now."
"Yes."
Watching her master leave, Xu Junzhu couldn’t help but sigh softly.
A damp, oppressive weight settled in her chest, as if a storm were brewing.
As she turned to leave, Xu Junzhu spotted Gu Meng slumped by the sky corridor.
Not long ago, Gu Meng had been thoroughly rebuffed by Li Zhaoye, and now her face was etched with despair.
Though she’d survived, her path to immortality was forever severed, her body no longer whole.
The trade hub of Qinghuiyun thrived under the Heavenly Dao Sect’s order—Gu Meng could have sold the gifts Luo Luo had once given her and lived comfortably for the rest of her days.
But somehow, she’d chosen the wrong path, and now she had nothing.
Xu Junzhu felt no sympathy.
They brushed past each other—this would be their last meeting.
A breeze swept through, lifting the tassels of her sword and the knots on her Qiankun pouch.
Gu Meng’s vacant gaze fixed on them—then her entire body jolted as if struck by lightning. "No… the Qiankun pouch was given to me by Chen Xuanyi!"
Why had she handed that over too?!
Gu Meng collapsed to the ground.
Clearly, anything that fell into that bastard’s hands was as good as gone.
Amid her anguish, memories flooded her mind—
Luo Luo emptying the contents of her Qiankun pouch into Gu Meng’s hands, apologizing sheepishly that she and Li Zhaoye, as sword cultivators, were poor and had only managed to save up that much.
Luo Luo pressing fingers to Gu Meng’s wrist, her spiritual power surging forth—fierce and unrelenting, like a small girl wielding an oversized blade, charging recklessly through Gu Meng’s meridians to purge the cold, venomous energy festering in her bones.
Luo Luo insisting Li Zhaoye would never love anyone else—that what they shared was either familial or romantic, scoffing at Gu Meng’s description of him as "aloof, righteous, and kind-hearted."
Luo Luo offering more than once to help Gu Meng cultivate, warning her just as often to stay away from Chen Xuanyi.
Luo Luo leaping without hesitation off a cliff to save her. Now, thinking back—who else but Chen Xuanyi could have pushed her?
If only she’d listened to Luo Luo back then, how could she have ended up like this?!
"How could I have been so stupid…"
Gu Meng wept bitterly, but regret came too late.
Luo Luo’s unconscious state was far from peaceful.
She had a high pain tolerance, but that didn’t mean she didn’t feel it.
So many bones broken—though Li Zhaoye had set them with practiced ease, the fractures still ached relentlessly.
Her internal injuries were severe; Chen Xuanyi had nearly shattered her dantian and meridians.
Every breath carried the metallic tang of blood. In her haze, she recalled that time at the bottom of Wuyuan Valley.
Back then, she’d lain half-dead just like this, coated in blood—some still wet and sticky, others dried and grating against her back.
Li Zhaoye had appeared before her.
He’d been drenched in slaughter, his gaze pitch-black, his aura terrifying, more fiend than man.
Even knowing this was just a memory, Luo Luo’s heart raced, her breathing turned shallow.
An unfamiliar sensation seized her—trembling uncontrollably, unable to tell whether it was fear or anticipation.
And then… what had happened?
Beside the bed, Li Zhaoye arched a brow.
He’d known this one wouldn’t rest easy even in dreams.
He tapped the tip of her nose lazily. "What are you fantasizing about? Don’t you know what shape you’re in? Barely clinging to life."
After scolding her, he folded his arms and leaned against the bed.
His dark eyes gleamed with amusement, lips curving in a smug arc.
After a moment’s consideration, he relented. "Once you’ve recovered, it’s not like I’d refuse—"
Then Luo Luo remembered why he hadn’t taken her that time.
Li Zhaoye was superstitious. He claimed that preserving his "virgin core" would increase the chances of obtaining a supreme-grade Nascent Soul during his breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage.
Luo Luo shuddered at his words.
Virgin core! Nascent Soul breakthrough! Supreme-grade!
In the next instant, her thoughts surged like a tidal wave, crashing over her.
"Break! Break! Break!"
"Supreme-grade Nascent Soul! Supreme-grade Nascent Soul! Supreme-grade Nascent Soul!"
"Give it to me now!"
Li Zhaoye was caught completely off guard, nearly thrown off the bed by her sudden outburst.
He stared at her as if she were a ghost. "..."
Who said she was on death's door? Who?!
Luo Luo’s stubbornly solid Golden Core didn’t disappoint.
When it shattered for the breakthrough, it unleashed an astonishing force, helping her land a solid strike on Chen Xuanyi.
Now, where the Golden Core had once been, the faint silhouette of a Nascent Soul began to take shape.
For cultivators, the quality of the Nascent Soul was paramount—it could determine one’s future strength and even the upper limits of their cultivation path.
The Nascent Soul was the true self.
What people believed about themselves often diverged wildly from reality.
No one could predict what kind of Nascent Soul would form.
Uncertainty bred superstition. Li Zhaoye, for instance, was practically going mad with restraint, forcing himself to endure and even rushing to a cold waterfall to douse his urges.
Luo Luo, too, was willing to believe in it now. She focused all her willpower into her dantian: "I have a virgin core—give me a supreme-grade Nascent Soul! Break now!"
"BOOM—"
A terrifying wave of scorching heat erupted in her dantian.
Luo Luo froze in shock.
Did… did her core just explode?
She remembered one time when she and Li Zhaoye had sneaked into Lao Jun Peak at midnight to secretly use Master Fuling’s alchemy furnace.
Li Zhaoye had sworn up and down that he’d found a forbidden recipe in some ancient text—one that would surely produce divine pills they could sell for a fortune.
Instead, they blew up the furnace.
The flames back then had been just as wild as what was now raging inside her dantian.
She tried to peer inward with her divine sense but was immediately scorched back out.
A hasty glance revealed nothing but fire—no trace of a Nascent Soul anywhere.
No no no no no!
She was going to die—the first person in history to fail a Nascent Soul breakthrough and burn to death.
Luo Luo stood petrified.
As she stared blankly, the flames surged out of her dantian, flowing through her meridians.
No no no—wait, what?!
Her entire body felt warm, as if soaking in a hot bath.
Before she could process it, the inferno completed a full cycle through her body before crashing back into her dantian.
"BOOM!"
Every lick of flame converged toward the center.
Wherever the fire passed, it left behind a pristine clarity, as if cleansed by pure water—indescribably marvelous.
In the next instant, the flames fully coalesced, and a transparent, blazing little figure took shape in her dantian—its features lifelike, an exact replica of her.
Luo Luo’s soul nearly fled her body in shock.
What the hell was this?!
She’d never heard of a Nascent Soul that was on fire!
Bright, dazzling, incandescent—what kind of supreme-grade monstrosity was this?!
Beside the bed, Li Zhaoye blinked slowly, then smirked. "Told you so."
His expression turned serious as he formed a hand seal, continuing to guard her and help stabilize her cultivation, ensuring her supreme-grade Nascent Soul fully integrated.
When Luo Luo awoke, she had no idea what day it was.
Instinctively, she turned her head toward the windowsill—and saw a familiar figure.
Immediately, she relaxed.
Every time she was injured or weak, Li Zhaoye would camp out by her window, treating it like home.
Her eyes and lips curved softly, warmth flooding her chest.
"Li Zhaoye!"
He glanced over, raised a brow, and teleported to her bedside in an instant.
"Awake?"
"Mm!" Luo Luo nodded vigorously. "Li Zhaoye, I got a supreme-grade Nascent Soul!"
She couldn’t wait to tell him. "Fire—it’s all fire! A fire Nascent Soul!"
He wanted to say he already knew and that she should save her energy.
But his gaze landed on her face—her eyes were alight with the same blazing fire.
It nearly blinded him.
This girl—sometimes sweet like candy, sometimes fluid like water, and now, burning like fire.
For a moment, he couldn’t look away. Watching her sparkling eyes, he nodded encouragingly. "Yeah. Good job. Go on."
Luo Luo beamed. "From now on!"
He nodded. "What?"
She exclaimed excitedly, "Roast chicken! So convenient!"
Li Zhaoye: "..."
Seriously? You get a supreme-grade Nascent Soul, and your first thought is chicken?
She gestured animatedly. "Even if we’re out in the wild without a firestarter, you won’t have to rub sticks together anymore!"
Li Zhaoye: "..."
He seriously considered knocking her out.
"What do you want to eat?" he deadpanned, staring at her. "I’ll get it for you."
Luo Luo didn’t hesitate for even a second. "Roast chicken!"
"..."
In the end, Li Zhaoye did roast a chicken.
He cracked open the clay casing, the steaming bundle resting on the bedside table—just as he was about to unwrap the leaves—when visitors arrived at the courtyard.
Opening the door, he found Xu Junzhu and her entourage.
Before Xu Junzhu could even finish her formal greeting at the threshold, the group behind her erupted into noisy chatter.
Xu Junlan: "The wicked live long—Luo Luo’s not dead, right? She’s fine, right?"
Zhao Yu: "I—I brewed some new pills overnight! Fresh formula—perfect for Little Junior Sister to test while she’s injured!"
Non-Yang Senior Brother: "I’ve been analyzing Little Junior Sister’s sword technique all night! I must consult her!"
Xu Junzhu took a deep breath. "All of you, shut up."
"Okay." "Got it."
Li Zhaoye looked utterly drained, his eyelids drooping as he turned and trudged back inside, leading them to the patient.
"Little Junior Sister!" "Little Junior Sister!"
Luo Luo sat propped up in bed, a large pillow behind her.
She wasn’t used to dealing with people, especially so many at once. Clutching a chicken wing, she didn’t know where to put her hands.
She grinned awkwardly. "Uh, hi, Senior Sisters, Senior Brothers."
Xu Junzhu’s gaze suddenly locked onto the wing in her hand, her frown deepening.
She turned to glare at Li Zhaoye. "A patient should avoid heavy foods. How could you let her eat chicken?"
Someone recovering should stick to light meals—nothing greasy or rich!
Luo Luo instantly felt guilty.
This head disciple was as strict as Master Lingxue.
"Ah," Li Zhaoye waved dismissively, "it’s fine, it’s not chicken."
Xu Junzhu’s eyes flicked to the wing in Luo Luo’s hand. "Then what is it?"
Li Zhaoye said, "It’s a flying luan. I caught it up there."
Xu Junzhu blanked for a long moment before understanding dawned. "You mean… the spirit beasts the Heavenly Dao Sect released for the Ascension Summit?"
Li Zhaoye grinned smugly. "Exactly!"
Xu Junzhu nearly fainted.
"...You might as well have given her chicken!"
She squeezed her eyes shut, struggling to speak. "Those spirit beasts are under supervision!"
Li Zhaoye shrugged. "No big deal. I knocked them out."
Xu Junzhu: "..."
Her vision swam.
After a deep breath, she ground out, "The Celestial Tree has detection arrays. The enforcement squad monitors everything. You hunted a luan and assaulted its keepers—you—"
"Oh, that?" Li Zhaoye reassured her. "Don’t worry about it."
Xu Junzhu managed a sliver of hope. "Oh?"
Li Zhaoye: "I dismantled the nearby arrays."
Xu Junzhu: "..."
Xu Junzhu finally snapped. "There are chicken vendors everywhere outside! Why couldn’t you just buy one?!"
At least it's better than chasing phoenixes, knocking people out, and dismantling magic arrays!
He’s practically trying to reach the heavens!
Li Zhaoye looked utterly innocent: "Didn’t you say patients shouldn’t eat chicken?"
Xu Junzhu: "…"
She was wrong. Dead wrong.
This absolute mutt—could he really be the aloof genius swordsman, the pride of Tai Xuan Sect, the rising star of the cultivation world?
He’s just a dog!
