Chapter 341: True Selflessness

One Heart, One Life!

It was an ancient spell that the True God created when they were still living in Stone Village. Once cast, two individuals would share one heart and one life. They would share life's sorrow and joy from then on.

The four of them had cast it onto each other back then, and it was a declaration of their determination to save each other from peril.

Cirou didn't expect that the Adjudication Sword Master would cast it onto Ye Guan. It had to be known that the four sisters had never cast it onto someone else other than themselves.

The Adjudication Sword Master and Ye Guan were now linked, and it would be like they were sharing one body. She helped Ye Guan absorb half of the damage!

Cirou was extremely furious. Has she gone completely insane?!

The Adjudication Sword Master frowned deeply, and her expression turned pale.

She had underestimated the power of the lightning bolts.

Cirou glared at her without saying a word. However, she had already secretly channeled the same ancient spell. Once the Adjudication Sword Master could no longer withstand the lightning tribulation, she would activate the One Heart, One Life spell that they had cast onto each other long ago to help her with the burden.

Just like that, Ye Guan and the Adjudication Sword Master remained steadfast as they dealt with the Lightning God Imprint. Ye Guan was having an easier time now that the Adjudication Sword Master had decided to absorb half of the damage for him.

Regardless, he didn't stay idle. Soon, he attempted to conquer the Lightning God Imprint. Half an hour later, the power of the lightning tribulation dissipated, and a faint lightning-shaped imprint appeared on Ye Guan's glabella.

It was the Lightning God Imprint!

The Adjudication Sword Master staggered back by about ten steps and almost fell to the ground.

Ye Guan took a deep breath and clenched his fists.

Boom!

A terrifying lightning force burst out of him and rattled the earth even thousands of meters away from him.

Ye Guan looked at his own hands. He then closed his eyes to feel the Lightning God Imprint's endless power from within him. Cirou was right; the Lightning God Imprint would constantly temper his sword and fleshly body.

Ye Guan suddenly recalled something and opened his eyes. Two bolts of lightning flashed in each of his eyes, and a burst of electricity exploded from him, making him look like the Lightning God.

Ye Guan's gaze landed on the weakened Adjudication Sword Master. he waved his sleeve, and a green ray of light flew toward her.

Ye Guan walked up to her.

The Adjudication Sword Master frowned and asked coldly, “What?”

“Thank you,” Ye Guan said softly.

The Adjudication Sword Master asked, “What are you thanking me for? I decided to save you so that I could kill you myself later."

Ye Guan's eyes flashed in a complicated light as he cast a deep gaze upon her.

The Adjudication Sword Master snapped at him, “What are you looking at?!”

“You’re nice to look at,” he said unconsciously and immediately froze upon realizing what he had just told her. What the hell did I just say?

The Adjudication Sword Master froze as well. Visibly taken aback, she hurriedly said, “You're courting death!"

She drew her sword and unleashed a sword attack on him. The sword attack started out fierce and powerful, but it got weaker and weaker as it approached Ye Guan. In the end, it became so slow that Ye Guan managed to dodge it without any issues.

Ye Guan smiled sheepishly and said, “Don't misunderstand… I was just being honest… You're really beautiful.”

Hearing that, the Adjudication Sword Master glared at him, but she didn't say anything nor make any moves.

Ye Guan was starting to feel a little uncomfortable under her gaze, so he quickly changed the topic and turned to look at Cirou. “Lady Cirou, where is your big sister?”

Cirou slowly eased the pressure on her right hand that was hidden underneath her sleeve to disperse the spell that she had channeled. She smiled at Ye Guan and replied, “She’s not here.”

Ye Guan was confused. “She’s not here?”

Cirou nodded and explained, “Her power is here, but her body isn’t. We don’t know where she is either.”

Ye Guan looked at the skies, feeling slightly puzzled.

He didn't expect that the True God wouldn't be here.

“Now that your strength has improved significantly, it's about time for us to leave,” said Cirou.

Ye Guan retracted his thoughts and replied, “We’re leaving?”

"Yes." Cirou nodded and said, “Your most urgent is to fight the Eternal Sovereign.”

“And once I'm done with that?”

“We’ll talk about it once we get there.”

“Lady Cirou, let me guess. Once I'm done dealing with the Eternal Sovereign, it’d be time for me to face the Universe Tribulation, right?”

Cirou blinked and feigned ignorance. “What are you talking about?”

Ye Guan replied softly, “Lady Cirou, you treat me really well, like how a tutor would treat his student. I really hoped that your feelings toward me were sincere, but I realized long ago that you have a hidden motive behind why you're following me.

"At first, I thought you were simply my treasures, but it quickly became obvious that it's not the case. I mean, you weren't even interested in the tiny pagoda, the Divine Tree of Nature, and surprisingly, even my Path Sword failed to move you.

“It was only after you brought me here that I realized something. Your motive has something to do with your big sister. Let me guess. Your ultimate goal is to make me take on the Universe Tribulation in the stead of your big sister.

"Of course, I can’t possibly go against it yet with my current strength, so you must be aiming to implicate my father and my aunt, am I right?”

Cirou’s smile vanished upon hearing that.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

The Adjudication Sword Master stared at him, but she didn't say anything.

Ye Guan continued. “From our conversations, I can feel that the bond between the four of you is very deep, especially your bonds with the True God. What you've done and are doing right now is all for her sake, right?”

Cirou stared intently at Ye Guan. Moments later, she chuckled and said, "I guess I underestimated just how smart you are. Actually, I was worried that you'd see through me once I executed my plan.

"I’ve been trying to be as covert as possible, and everything seemed to be going smoothly, but who would have thought that you had already seen through me? And a long time ago at that!”

Ye Guan shook his head lightly at Cirou's confession. He had his suspicions, but the fact that they all turned out to be true made him feel complicated deep inside.

Cirou asked, “When did you find out?”

Ye Guan opened his hand, and the Lightning God Imprint appeared on his glabella.

"The moment I absorbed the Lightning God Imprint was the moment my karma was linked to the Universe Tribulation. Am I right?"

Cirou laughed and praised, “You're way smarter than I thought.”

Ye Guan stared into Cirou's eyes and asked, “Was it also a part of your plan when you asked me to go and seek out Ba Wan?”

Cirou nodded and admitted, “Yes.”

"I've always found it baffling," Ye Guan shook his head and said, “If Ba Wan hadn't recovered her memories, she wouldn't have done it. In fact, she wouldn't even know how to do it. On the other hand, if she had recovered her memories prior to that, I would have been just a stranger to her.

"Why would the esteemed True Selflessness sleep with me, then? A mere stranger? Was it really because she just thought that I was handsome? I highly doubted it, but I've been avoiding it because of my feelings for her.”

Cirou smiled and said, “As expected of the Sword Master and Pavilion Master Qin’s son. If it weren't for the feelings involved, I wouldn't have been able to deceive you at all.”

"Lady Cirou, I have another question.”

"Ask away," Cirou replied.

"Why did Ba Wan sleep with me?" Ye Guan asked, sounding confused. "What was there for you guys to gain?"

At last, Ye Guan had finally blurted out the question that had baffled him the most.

Cirou blinked and asked back, “Why don’t you take a guess?”

Ye Guan shook his head and said, “Just tell me the answer.”

“If you can’t guess it, I won’t tell you what it is. Just guess, and I'll tell you if you made the right guess,” Cirou said.

Ye Guan stared at her without saying anything.

Cirou smiled and pointed out. “You can't kill me.”

"How about my aunt?" Ye Guan asked.

Cirou’s smile stiffened, but she quickly recovered and said, “Who was it that said that he would no longer ask for his aunt's help? It hasn't even been that long since you made that declaration, but you're already going back on your word?”

Ye Guan gave her a thumbs up and said, “That was a great comeback.”

“I know you don’t want to be a pawn, but you no longer have a choice,” Cirou sighed and said, “Honestly, you're smart, but you're not cunning at all. If I were you, I would have feigned ignorance and pretended to fight the Eternal Sovereign along with the True Universe.

"Since my goal is to make you take on the Universe Tribulation, I would have definitely made the True Universe assist you, but now… the Guanxuan Universe’s help is all you're going to get against the Eternal Sovereign.”

Ye Guan retorted, “I wanted that to happen, too, but do you know why I chose not to proceed with it?”

Cirou asked curiously, “Why?”

Ye Guan looked straight into her eyes and said, “Because I have dignity, and I'm not willing to stoop so low.”

Cirou’s eyes narrowed.

Ye Guan said, “Lady Cirou, you're from the True Universe, and I'm from the Guanxuan Universe. In retrospect, it's not strange that you've plotted against me. I can only blame myself for falling into your trap, so I'm not angry at all.

"However, there's something I hope you won't hide from me. You know where Ba Wan is, right?”

Cirou nodded. “Yes.”

“I’d like to meet her,” Ye Guan said.

“Are you sure about that?”

“The matters between me and her must be settled eventually, don’t you think so?”

“I agree.”

“Is she still in Stone Village?”

Cirou shook her head and replied, “No, she’s right here.”

Boom!

The spacetime behind Cirou was abruptly torn open, and a young woman slowly walked out of the spacetime rift. She was an extremely beautiful young woman wearing a long skirt. Both her hands were behind her back, and her eyes exuded a domineering light reminiscent of invincibility.

The three sisters were as beautiful as each other, and it would be an understatement to say that their beauties were at mythical levels.

Ye Guan slowly walked up to Ba Wan.

Ba Wan stared calmly at him, and there wasn't a hint of turbulence in her placid eyes. It felt like she was staring at a complete stranger rather than at Ye Guan.

Ye Guan looked at her for a long time before he smiled and said, “I’ve been thinking for a long time about what I would do and say once I meet you again. I've always been anxious about it, but now that I've seen you again. I finally realized it.

"The person I loved was the Ba Wan I met in that tiny village. The Ba Wan who was always excited to eat my meals, the Ba Wan who cried over an old cow, the Ba Wan whose stomach was seemingly an endless pit, and the Ba Wan who rushed into the True Universe to protect me with her life at stake…” Tears started falling from Ye Guan's eyes as he continued. “Now that I've seen you again, I'm finally convinced that she's never going to come back.

"She… that Ba Wan will… never come back.”