Chapter 2347 - Bequeathing a Saber

Everyone’s expression shifted. All of them looked at Wen Ruoxue.

Even Ling Qingfeng, Tu Youfang, and the other higher-ups’ expressions were a bit conflicted.

They were wondering the same thing as those interrogating Wen Ruoxue, and their attitude toward her had shifted subtly.

Wen Ruoxue’s heart sank. She recalled what the mysterious senior in her sea of consciousness had told her.

Now, her predictions were becoming a reality!

She’d turned the tides and shored up on a building on the verge of collapse. Did that make her the hero of her sect?

No!

Reality was often the opposite of what you’d expect.

Wen Ruoxue wasn’t overly depressed, though. She’d asked that senior for help to repay the sect’s benevolence to her, not to become a hero.

However, she already understood that she could no longer remain in the sect. If she did, even the sect leader would struggle to eat or sleep in peace!

Wen Ruoxue faced her master, Tu Youfang, and bowed deeply. “Master, thank you for bringing me to the God Domain to cultivate. Today, your disciple shall depart the sect and explore the world on her own!”

Tu Youfang stiffened, then said frantically, “Ruoxue, don’t jump to conclusions! The sect...”

Wen Ruoxue shook her head. “Master, I’ve already made up my mind, but I'll always remember your benevolence!”

With that, she knelt, kowtowed thrice, and left.

No one dared to stand in her way.

As Ling Qingfeng watched her leave, he couldn’t help but let out a deep sigh. Tu Youfang had a rather bleak look on his face, too. They naturally understood that there was no longer a place for Wen Ruoxue here. How could they not?

“Wen Ruoxue, why aren’t you answering me? Why?” That same voice rang out, practically hissing. “Is it that you have a guilty conscience!?”

The speaker was a stalwart man whose name had been on the Church of the Black Cloud’s must-kill list. He was among those who’d fought beside Wen Ruoxue, bathed in blood.

“Enough!” roared Ling Qingfeng, his gaze imposing. “If not for Wen Ruoxue, you would have died today already!”

The questions came to an abrupt halt.

Merits and mistakes, right and wrong. Who could truly differentiate accurately?

Mu Bai took all of this in. Earlier, he’d been furious bordering on madness, but all of that had faded away.

All he felt now was grief.

In that moment, he finally made a decision.

......

On that day, every prominent expert of the Church of the Black Cloud at the Opening Origins Sect perished.

The rest of their army of eight thousand cultivators scampered off in panic.

Wen Ruoxue had become the talk of the sect, as well as its most controversial figure.

......

The night was dark and deep.

A stretch of mountainous wilderness.

Su Yi sat on the ground, then said, “Nothing in this world is easier than dying. Living on while upholding your principles takes wisdom and courage.

“In that sense, living is far more arduous than dying.”

He looked at Mu Bai, who was crouched not far away. “You did well today.”

Mu Bai said softly, “But my heart is full of discomfort.”

Su Yi smiled. “But it isn’t because you’re afraid to die, nor are you shrinking back. Right?”

Mu Bai fell briefly silent, then nodded.

“If you aren’t opposed, I can become your Dao Protector,” said Su Yi. He took a sip of wine. “I can transmit secret arts and guide your path, but... you’ll ultimately have to walk it for yourself.”

Mu Bai shook, overcome with disbelief.

“Of course, if you find sufficient grounds to punish me one day, you needn’t be polite,” said Su Yi, gazing into the distant night sky. “In any event, I just want you to maintain your Dao Heart and keep moving forward.”

Mu Bai suddenly recalled what Su Yi, then a mysterious stranger, had told him on that snowy night.

“I just want to see how far you can walk down this path, and whether or not you can truly one day intimidate the world’s evildoers.

“The God Domain doesn’t differentiate between good and evil. If, one day, you could establish rules that everyone would have no choice but to respect... that would be even better.”

At the time, Mu Bai didn’t understand. But now, he was starting to get it.

“Thank you, Senior!” Mu Bai rose, then bowed deeply.

“Step aside and get some rest. I have something to discuss with Wen Ruoxue in private.”

“Yes.” Mu Bai nodded.

Su Yi called over Wen Ruoxue, who'd been standing in the distance, then said softly, “Fellow Daoist Xuanji, please show yourself.”

The battered black feather transformed into a black flame, then appeared above Wen Ruoxue. Its firelight interwove, reflecting a slender, beautiful figure.

Her hair was as white as snow, and her clothing danced around her. Her features were enchanting, and she had the majesty of a ruler.

This was none other than Luo Xuanji.

She was the former ruler of the City of the Lost, an expert who’d clung to life as her epoch civilization of origin vanished into the past, and an unparalleled Master Goddess!

It was just that her figure was indistinct, as if she might dissipate at any moment.

Her condition was even worse than Su Yi had anticipated.

Wen Ruoxue’s eyes widened. Even after all these years, this was her first time seeing the true appearance of the mysterious senior hiding in her sea of consciousness.

“I really troubled you this time,” said Luo Xuanji with a hint of exasperation.

Su Yi shook his head. “This doesn’t count as trouble. It’s not even worth mentioning compared to the way you risked your life for me back then.”

On the Road of Celestial Guidance, Luo Xuanji and Luo Qingdi had fought to the death, helping Su Yi escape the pursuit of a whole group of powerful enemies.

There’d been no word from either sibling since.

Su Yi had carved this benevolence into his heart ever since.

“Why didn’t you come looking for me over the years?” asked Su Yi.

Luo Xuanji batted her beautiful eyes, then smiled. “Look at me! I didn’t want to become a burden to you.”

She sat beside Su Yi, making herself right at home. “That girl Wen Ruoxue told me what’s been going on in your life. I know you have more than enough trouble already, and I didn’t want to give you anymore.”

Wen Ruoxue was a bit befuddled.

I have no idea who that man is. How could I possibly have told her about him?

“What do those troubles amount to?” Su Yi said casually. “I’m much more concerned about you and your brother’s lives.”

He paused, then asked, “Do you... have any news about your brother?”

Luo Xuanji shook her head. “I can say with certainty that he isn’t dead, but I cannot make contact with him.”

As she spoke, her brow was fraught with worry. A special technique connected her and her older brother, Luo Qingdi. Barring extraordinarily troubling circumstances, she should have been able to contact him!

“I’ll investigate thoroughly,” Su Yi said with the utmost seriousness. “No matter where he is, or what kind of trouble he’s run into, I’ll bring him back to you!”

Luo Xuanji nodded.

The two of them chatted a while longer. In the end, Su Yi decided to take Luo Xuanji to the Ruins of Supreme Emergence to cultivate!

That would be safest for her. Only there could Luo Xuanji fully focus on treating her wounds and recovering her cultivation base.

Luo Xuanji naturally agreed, but she asked to take Wen Ruoxue with her.

Su Yi naturally had no objections.

At this point of the conversation, Wen Ruoxue could no longer hold back. She asked Luo Xuanji to tell her Su Yi’s name.

Su Yi laughed and told her himself.

Su Yi!?

Wen Ruoxue was dumbstruck.

Mu Bai, who’d been cultivating quietly not far away, was stunned too. His eyes widened.

So, that’s who he is!!

......

Three days later, Su Yi and Mu Bai parted ways in a city.

Su Yi had been diligent and thorough over the past three days. He’d assembled all of the legacies regarding the Dao of the Saber, plus all manner of classics, tomes, and legacies. He called the collection “a Saber Cultivator’s Guide to the Dao,” turned it into a soul seal, and left it in Mu Bai’s sea of consciousness.

Then, he compiled some of the revelations and experiences from his own pursuit of the Dao, called them “Musings on the Profound", and gave them to Mu Bai, too.

Mu Bai naturally understood how precious “a Saber Cultivator’s Guide to the Dao” and “Musings on the Profound” were. More than ever before, he felt as if he were dreaming.

He was an orphan, and because of his unusual path, others had always ostracized him.

His personality was as sharp as his saber, and he gave no thought to feelings. Thus, he was rejected, scorned, hated, insulted, and reviled...

He’d never even considered the possibility that someone might attach such importance to him or go to such lengths to train him.

He

certainly

had never considered the possibility that it would be Su Yi of all people who’d help him. After all, Su Yi was an unparalleled legend famous throughout the God Domain!

It was only after he and Su Yi parted ways that Mu Bai gradually calmed down. Only now was he finally convinced that all of this was real!

“Senior Su, I’ll carve this benevolence into my heart. I’ll never, ever forget what you’ve done for me! I absolutely won’t let you down!”

Mu Bai placed his saber on his back and set off beneath the light of the setting sun.

His eyes were as sharp as his saber!

But although he didn’t know it, there was one more gift waiting for him in the seal Su Yi had placed in his soul: a saber.

Its name was Heaven’s Loathing.

Heaven loathed it, and ghosts reviled it!

It was the second of the Nine Mysteries of Chaos, a mighty killer weapon!

As well as a wondrous chaos treasure, something even Master Gods might long for yet fail to acquire!

“I wouldn’t have thought you’d really give the Blade of Heaven’s Loathing to a Void Realm True Immortal,” Luo Xuanji said softly. “Harboring too precious a treasure is a sin in its own right. Aren’t you afraid owning the blade will hurt him?”

“True treasures are unassuming, and the Blade of Heaven’s Loathing is intelligent. There’s no way it’ll invite that sort of disaster upon that little fellow,” said Su Yi. “Also, I’m just lending it to him. When he grows truly strong, he’ll be a saber in his own right, a blade that demarcates good and evil. He’ll intimidate the heavens, and establish rules and standards that the world will have no choice but to follow!”

𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

This was what Su Yi hoped for, and the reason he and the Blade of Heaven’s Loathing thought highly of Mu Bai.

“Let’s go. I’ll drop you off at the Ruins of Supreme Emergence first.”

With that, Su Yi led Wen Ruoxue and Luo Xuanji away.

...

Word that a group of experts from the Church of the Black Cloud had died at the Opening Origins Daoist Sect spread across the Spirit Firmament Divine Continent, causing an enormous commotion.

But against all expectations, the Church of the Black Cloud made no attempt to get revenge. It was as if they’d completely submitted to their fate.

At first, the Opening Origins Daoist Sect was worried and afraid, but as time passed, they gradually calmed back down.

No one knew the true reason for this, but it wasn’t hard to guess. It surely had something to do with that mysterious existence who stood behind Wen Ruoxue, the one who’d saved the Opening Origins Daoist Sect.

But they still found it strange, and hard to imagine. The Church of the Black Cloud was backed by Eight Views Grotto. Why had they given in so easily?