Chapter 191: If There Really Is a Day I Can Return

The highest council of the True Path Alliance's underwater city lies extremely far from the Xiang Jianzong.

But distance meant little to Xu Xing.

"Don't worry, I remember."

Xu Xing took out some fruits he had casually picked up on the Cloud Terrace earlier, packed them into a bag, and handed them to Chi Jiuyu.

"Thank you, Master Uncle!" Chi Jiuyu quickly took them.

She opened it to look, finding that besides the blue fruit she wanted, he had also brought her some other varieties.

Wow! Master Uncle is actually quite thoughtful! "Get ready—we're going to Ling Yin Fang in a few days."

"Huh?"

Why suddenly Ling Yin Fang? Xu Xing gave no explanation, simply walking past her toward the interior.

So mysterious.

Chi Jiuyu muttered under her breath, carrying the bag back to the recovery pod.

She pulled out one of the blue fruits she had longed for, instinctively reaching to summon her Lifesword to help slice it.

But after glancing at Xu Xing, she rubbed the back of her head.

Hmm…

Better not—if Master Uncle's Moon Shadow noticed, I'd get punished again.

Crunch!

She bit into it hard, juice bursting forth, rich and fragrant.

Perfect! No wonder I picked this fruit at first glance.

Chi Jiuyu gnawed on the fruit while Xu Xing walked straight to Bie Xuening's side, gazing at Li Ke, who sat in meditation.

"The injuries aren't severe, but they're deeply rooted—eradicating them will take a long time," Bie Xuening explained.

Xu Xing nodded: "After all, it was an Xuan's doing."

Xuan! The origin of transcendence in the Xuan Realm, the path all beings cultivate, observed and shaped by it—its methods are mysterious and unfathomable.

Thus, Li Ke's injury isn't merely external—it's rooted in her Dao.

Without external intervention, she'd need to spend decades, day and night, slowly wearing it away with her own cultivated Dao to dispel even this trace of Xuan's influence.

"My Dao is violent and fierce; the external wounds are easy to heal, but the Dao injury is hard to resolve."

With the ferocity of her Killing Sword Dao, forcibly removing it might bring new wounds before the old ones fade.

After all, she must be extremely cautious even when taking on disciples.

"No problem—I'll handle it," Xu Xing said.

Sister's Sword Dao is utterly ferocious; in pure killing power, she surpasses even her peers—and me!

But in other aspects, she still falls short.

Yet I am different.

Hum~ A faint hum only Bie Xuening could hear, her perception stretching infinitely.

A sliver of brilliance crossed from the void, bringing with it the collapse of countless stars and the disintegration of colorful nebulae.

This was Li Ke's cultivated Dao—Concealed Edge! But the brilliance, which should have flashed and vanished, now hung motionless, a purple thread clinging to it like a parasitic curse.

"Go."

A sword shadow flashed—the purple thread was severed without a sound.

Once the purple thread broke, the brilliance danced joyfully in a circle before vanishing.

It felt as if a long-unsheathed sword had finally returned to its scabbard.

"Done."

At Xu Xing's words, Bie Xuening willingly withdrew from the state that allowed her to perceive others' Dao.

Thinking of her own painstaking efforts to wear it down, then recalling how her younger brother had simply slashed once…

"You make it look so easy," she couldn't help sighing.

"I'm just skilled in this."

Meng Xuan's condition was far more complex—I severed it with one sword.

How much easier, then, to clear away merely a trace of Xuan's residual power?

Bie Xuening said nothing, instead watching Li Ke, who was straining to open her eyes but couldn't break through the lingering magic power.

Forget it.

The magic power dissipated.

Li Ke finally opened her eyes, snapping her head up.

But Bie Xuening's expression didn't change.

Li Ke could only sulkily lower her head.

"Damn Master Aunt!"

She muttered silently in her heart, then bowed deeply: "Disciple thanks Master."

"Rise. We're master and disciple—no need for such formalities," Xu Xing said softly. The harmonious scene stirred Bie Xuening's envy; she turned to look at her own disciple.

Puff! Puff!

Chi Jiuyu was spitting out fruit pits onto the ground.

Seeing her master looking at her, she froze for a moment.

Then, with swift hands, she pulled another fruit from the bag.

"Master, you want one too!"

"..."

In that moment, the complexity in his heart was beyond words to describe.

Bie Xuening turned her head: "Younger brother, I have something to say to you."

With a wave of her hand, Li Ke, who had wanted to say more, the bewildered Chi Jiuyu, the fruit pits on the ground, and the healing pod all vanished.

The training ground stood empty, leaving only the two of them.

She sent everyone away…

It must be something important.

"Say it, sister." Xu Xing sat down.

Bie Xuening sat across from him.

"Earlier, when she suddenly asked you to go to Ling Yin Fang, I remembered something."

The 'she' here naturally refers to Elder Lingzu.

"Over these past thousand years, she has asked me for nine sword qi, to study the Foundation of Creation—I suspect her method must be related to the Foundation of Creation."

"Foundation of Creation?"

The current situation is not like the old days; though the method of the Foundation of Creation is powerful, it shouldn't yet be enough to affect the entire landscape.

"I asked her, but she said she didn't yet know if it would succeed, so she didn't reveal anything."

Sister's sword qi is pure, deadly sword qi—unmatched in offense.

It seems utterly unrelated to something like cultivating the Foundation of Creation.

"The specifics? You'll know once you go," Xu Xing said.

Since Elder Lingzu invited him to Ling Yin Fang, she must already have achieved some progress—then he could go and see for himself.

"Mm." Bie Xuening gave a slight nod.

After a moment of thought, Xu Xing suddenly realized another key point in this matter.

"Sister, have you been in contact with Elder Lingzu all these years?"

The Spirit Net hasn't even existed for a thousand years.

That means, even before the Spirit Net appeared, Elder Lingzu was already in contact with you? "Yes."

"Since when?"

"Long ago, before you entered your seclusion."

"..."

That really was early indeed.

Setting aside that question, Xu Xing asked: "Sister, you've long held your post at the Xiang Jianzong—have you ever thought of going out?"

"Not interested."

Bie Xuening understood what Xu Xing meant.

He simply wanted to take over the Hun Tian Yi she bore, now that the one he sealed had been fully refined and erased.

But…

The Hun Tian Yi he originally sealed was the strongest of them all.

He already bears too much.

"Sister, don't worry—I now have the strength to bear even the Hun Tian Yi held by all four sects," Xu Xing said confidently.

Though it's only half a step, it's still a qualitative transformation!

"I'm not interested," Bie Xuening still refused, then shifted topic: "Tell me about Yuan—he's your fellow townsman, did he return?"

"Yuan…" Xu Xing paused, "He did return."

"Do you want to go back?" Bie Xuening asked next.

"I won't go back."

The answer didn't directly answer the question, yet somehow it already had.

"..."

A silence fell.

"If there ever is a day I return," Xu Xing looked at Bie Xuening,

"I hope it's with you, sister."

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