Chapter 658: A Guilty Conscience

No one liked feeling like their life and death were out of their hands, not even weapon spirits.

The white-haired woman’s question revealed undisguised fury and indignation.

Although she was a sword spirit, she was a sentient being in her own right, with intelligence and feelings.

Alas, her question was directed at Su Yi, who’d seen numerous cases of sword spirits turning on their masters.

Even the sword he'd used in his past life had a spirit.

Su Yi knew that when it came to questions like this, there was no one-size-fits-all answer.

Just like people, sword spirits came in all stripes.

Some sword spirits would risk everything for their masters without fear of death.

Some sword spirits would try as hard as they could to break free of their masters, striving for any opportunity at independence.

Some sword spirits, like Qing Luo, harbored a desire to turn on and devour their masters right from the start.

And the white-haired woman in red? She was willing to work for her master, and she was loyal, too, but she wouldn’t sacrifice her life for nothing.

This wasn’t a question of whether or not sword spirits ought to have control over their own fates or not.

No, it was a question of whether or not she’d done anything wrong.

Had she?

No, she hadn’t.

But she absolutely wasn’t?innocent,?either!

“I’ll just ask you this. When Qing Luo suggested joining forces to take down his master, did you warn Bai Changhen?” Su Yi said coolly.

The white-haired woman’s expression shifted erratically beneath his gaze. She slowly lowered her head and said, “At the time, I didn’t believe Bai Changhen would really choose to refine Celestial Glaze, so I interpreted Qing Luo’s words as an attempt to instigate trouble and lead me astray.”

“So, Bai Changhen didn’t know about it. Is that right?”

The white-haired woman nodded, then explained, “But if he hadn’t chosen to refine Celestial Glaze, that tragedy would never have happened!”

Su Yi smiled. “I’m not here to discuss right and wrong with you. In truth, what happened then has nothing to do with me. If I didn’t owe the Immortals’ Sword House a favor, I wouldn’t bother to ask so much as a single question.”

He paused here, then looked at the blue lamp. “No matter what you say, Bai Changhe and the experts of the Immortals’ Sword House died here. Do you… really have a clean conscience?”

The white-haired woman fell silent.

“Why are you waiting here for Qing Luo?” asked Su Yi.

He could tell that the scar on the lamp was the same as the marks on the dead cultivators; it, too, was Qing Luo’s work.

This was unquestionable proof that, after killing Bai Changhen, Qing Luo attempted to free the white-haired woman from her confines, only to fail in the end.

The woman lowered her head and fell limply to the ground. She said woodenly, “If I told you I was waiting here so that I could kill him myself, would you believe me?”

“Why?” asked Su Yi.

The white-haired woman smiled bleakly. “I have a guilty conscience.”

It was just one simple statement, yet it seemed to drain all her power, and her voice was rife with agony and melancholy.

Earlier, when Su Yi asked if she had a guilty conscience or not, she remained silent.

But now, she’d finally answered, and it seemed she’d revealed the deepest scar in her heart.

She looked utterly tormented.

Ning Sihua couldn’t help but sigh to herself.

Su Yi, however, wasn’t all that moved. “Then why are you so certain that Qing Luo will come looking for you?”

The white-haired woman took a deep breath. “He?likes?me. When he failed to get me out of the Soul-Refining Lamp, he went insane, and he killed every disciple of the Immortals’ Sword House here to vent his fury.?He said that, so long as the opportunity arose, he’d be sure to kill his way here and take me away.”

A conflicted look arose on her face, a mixture of pain and loathing. “But he’s never understood. I hate nothing more than wanton murderers like him!”

Ning Sihua’s hair stood on end. She could sense the white-haired woman’s inextricable hatred.

This was a type of hatred accumulated over countless years, and there was no hiding it.

“I can give you a chance,” said Su Yi.

The white-haired woman was stunned. A moment later, she asked in apparent confusion, “You won’t kill me?”

Su Yi said casually, “I just think that if Qing Luo is killed by the woman he loves, it might well comfort these departed souls.”

“Aren’t you afraid I was lying to you?” asked the woman.

“No,” said Su Yi. “You and Qing Luo combined still wouldn’t be a match for me. Why should I be afraid?”

A moment later, he sharply changed tacks. “Of course, to prevent the unexpected, I’ll place some restraints on you. Once you’ve killed Qing Luo, I’ll grant you your freedom.”

“What kind of restraints?” the woman asked instinctively.

Su Yi pointed at the blue lamp. “Fuse your life fully into the treasure and allow me to restrict you to the Immortals’ Sword House.”

The white-haired woman’s expression changed dramatically. “But if I do that, doesn’t it mean I’ll never be able to escape my confinement?”

“When the time comes, I can teach you to fuse the treasure into your own cultivation,” Su Yi said calmly.

The white-haired woman wanted to ask, “Does such a miraculous method really exist in this world?”

But in the end, she held back.

She recalled the way Su Yi had approached her with terrifying majesty reminiscent of a god, and his indescribable, matchless sword force.

“Alright, I agree!” The woman gnashed her teeth and nodded.

……

An hour later, Su Yi emerged from the palace and passed the sealed?Heavensphere?Soul-Refining Lamp to Ning Sihua.

“After you leave, restrict this treasure within the Heaven-Sealing Formation of the Nine Absolutes,” said Su Yi. “That way, no matter when Qing Luo comes calling, Tian Li will find out immediately. That should be enough to eliminate the latent threat Qing Luo represents.”

“Tian Li”, or “Celestial Glaze”, was the name of the sword, but it was the white-haired woman’s name too.

Before Su Yi and Ning Sihua left the palace, Tian Li fully melded her life with the?Heavensphere?Soul-Refining Lamp.

Su Yi then sealed the treasure up. Even if Tian Li had ill intentions, she couldn’t possibly endanger anyone in the Immortals’ Sword House.

Ning Sihua asked, “When the time comes, what if Tian Li isn’t a match for Qing Luo?”

She naturally knew full well that Su Yi couldn’t possibly remain here forever.

“Rest assured, as a fellow sword spirit, her foundations are no weaker than Qing Luo’s. Before I leave, I’ll set up a few little tricks. It’ll be enough to ensure that Qing Luo doesn’t leave this place alive,” laughed Su Yi.

“Then… When do you plan to leave, Fellow Daoist?” asked Ning Sihua.

“After achieving Spiritual Manifestation,” Su Yi said casually. “I told the Xia Emperor that before the Radiant Epoch arrived, I’d help him repair the Nine-Tripod Suppression Barrier Formation. I naturally can’t go back on my word.”

“So soon?” exclaimed Ning Sihua.

She knew that Su Yi’s cultivation had already reached the pinnacle of the Gathering Stars Realm. All he needed now was the right opportunity, and he could welcome his Tribulation of Spiritual Manifestation and attempt a breakthrough.

“Is it soon? I still don’t know when I’ll break through,” laughed Su Yi.

He wasn’t overly?concerned with when?he broke through.

It was just as he initially predicted. Opportunities were a matter of fate. When lotuses blossomed, butterflies would drift over of their own accord. Forcing the matter would only set him back.

As they conversed, they left the underground world known as the Final Resting Place and returned to the surface.

“Master Su, did everything go smoothly?” Ying Que hurried up to greet him.

Su Yi nodded, then suddenly recalled something. “This time, I?brought?a Molten Gold Lion back with me. Its name is Jin Nu. Going forward, have it stand guard outside the ruins. You can spend your time cultivating inside.”

Ying Que’s spirits soared, and he said gratefully, “Thank you for your benevolence, Master Su.”

Su Yi waved his gratitude away. “No need to thank me. If you have free time, help me guide Jin Nu’s cultivation.”

“Yes, sir!” Ying Que solemnly assented, but inwardly, he sighed.?That Molten Gold Lion sure is lucky. If it keeps watch over Master Su’s gates, how could it possibly fail to soar to greater heights of the Grand Dao?

However, I, Ying Que, have already entered Master Su’s good graces. That Jin Nu can’t possibly compare to me!

……

The next few days were quite productive for Su Yi. Although his opportunity to break through didn’t arrive, he didn’t slack off.

He tempered his Dao of the Sword, contemplated the Grand Dao, refined talismans, quenched the Abstruse God Sword…

When he had a spare moment, he sipped tea, ate, and drank with Cha Jin, Wen Xue, and the others. Alternatively, he’d admire the lilies and the fish. While he was at it, he’d instruct his allies in their cultivation.

His days were rich and joyful, and he paid absolutely no attention to the world changing outside.

Days slipped by, one after another.

…

Late at night, Su Yi was cultivating in his room when the Soul-Nurturing Gourd hanging from the wall suddenly shook.

“What is it?” Su Yi opened his eyes and frowned slightly.

He’d been seated in meditation, and he hated when others disturbed him at times like this.

“Mas-master, today… today is…” Qing Wan’s sweet, stuttering voice emanated from within the gourd.

“Come on out and speak.” Su Yi rubbed his forehead.

Since returning from the Great Xia, sometimes, at night, when no one else was around, he and Qing Wan would chat and discuss cultivation.

When the mood struck him, he and Qing Wan drank together.

This picturesque yet slightly silly young woman had already reached the early-stage Gathering Stars Realm.

Her speed wasn’t all that fast; she was slower than even Yuan Heng.

However, her foundations were incredibly firm.

She had a pure Yin body to begin with, and she practiced a supreme ghost cultivation technique, the Ten Directions Asura Sutra. Add that to Su Yi frequently giving her cultivation resources, and her foundations were tempered far beyond other ghost cultivators of the same realm.

Even in the Nine Provinces of the Wilds, her foundations were enough to make even peak-level orthodoxies exclaim over her talent.

Whoosh~

Mist surged out of the gourd, and a slender, graceful young woman in a swaying red dress appeared before him.

This was none other than Qing Wan.

As soon as she appeared, she lowered her head bashfully, and her snowy, slender fingers fidgeted with the hems of her clothes as she muttered, “Master, I don’t want to bother you, it’s just… It’s the early morning of the second day of the second month. You didn’t forget, did you? Today is your birthday…”

Before she could finish, Su Yi froze, looking slightly dazed.

So, today was the second day of the second lunar month…