Xue Chenjing and Xue Mingyuan were products born from the lingering Chaos Energy on the ancient battlefield after the War of Gods and Demons. The two were born with the Dual Nature of God and Demon. The demons attracted by Xue Chenjing's demonic nature were not benevolent beings.
Demons are the most cowardly creatures in this world, worshipping those stronger than themselves and devouring those weaker. What could they give him besides evil desires like greed, anger, and delusion? How could they provide what he truly longed for?
His brother loved humanity but not him. Only demons were willing to come to him, yet they would only drag him deeper into the abyss. He was trapped in this prison, unable to find a way out.
Yu Yi saw Xue Chenjing's yearning eyes in the depths of the demonic shadow reflected on her sword. For a moment, she did feel some pity for him.
It must be said that Xue Chenjing perfectly fit the archetype of those villains in novels waiting to be redeemed.
But she was not the type of person who would recklessly jump into the quagmire to save him.
Perhaps in the novel "After Transmigrating, I Got a Happy Ending with the Villain," she would have been that kind of female protagonist who would unhesitatingly redeem him, which is why they could ultimately achieve a happy ending.
But Yu Yi was not a character on paper to be manipulated by words. She was a living, breathing person with her own thoughts, concerns, preferences, and principles. She lived only for herself, not to save anyone else.
Before transmigrating into this world, in the nineteen years Yu Yi lived in reality, the most important thing she learned from her parents was that to love others, you must first love yourself.
This might sound somewhat selfish, but Yu Yi had always agreed with this sentiment in her heart.
She was truly just an ordinary girl who loved freedom and comfort. She didn't possess any particularly noble sentiments or desire to save others. She would only be willing to help others when she could ensure her own safety.
Now that Yu Yi had witnessed the pain Xue Mingyuan experienced each time he tried to separate Xue Chenjing from himself, how could she dare to actively step into the quagmire and offer her true heart to cleanse the evil within him? The ending might be as beautiful as in the book, but the process would undoubtedly be far from harmless.
Thanks to that cursed system, she had already been latched onto by Xue Chenjing. Even though she was involuntarily drawn into these muddy waters, she didn't want to become the one who suffered and sacrificed.
Yu Yi turned the blade of her sword, and Xue Chenjing's image was no longer reflected on its surface. The demonic shadow on the other side of the cliff was still raging, much like every other night of the new moon. As dawn approached, Xue Chenjing once again reluctantly dissipated before daybreak, leaving behind only a ground full of horrific claw marks.
Xue Mingyuan leaned tiredly against a pine tree, gazing towards the east until the golden light of the morning sun pierced through the clouds and mist, slanting onto this cliff and enveloping him.
He sat quietly in the sunlight for a moment, then stood up and headed down the mountain as usual.
Yu Yi carved notches on a stone to keep track of the days. She had spent another year in this inherited sword realm, learning the Eight Swords of Pursuing Spring. However, when it came to the final sword, Ming Zhaojun shook her head and said, "Let's stop here. You won't be able to learn the ninth sword."
"Why not?" Yu Yi asked, puzzled. She didn't think she was lacking in any way.
Ming Zhaojun explained, "The Ninth Sword of Pursuing Spring is about having compassion for the world."
Yu Yi fell silent. If that was the case, she indeed wouldn't be able to learn the ninth sword. Her compassion for herself ultimately outweighed her compassion for the world; she would not sacrifice herself for the sake of others.
She glanced towards the other side of the cliff and asked, "Did he learn it?"
Ming Zhaojun's gaze followed hers. This strand of divine consciousness had remained in the Great Green Mountain Sword Realm solely to pass on Ming Zhaojun's sword techniques. It had always ignored questions unrelated to swordsmanship, not even sparing a glance when the red-crowned crane fawned by her side.
But at this moment, Ming Zhaojun's eyes revealed deep regret, and she unusually answered Yu Yi's question, shaking her head, "No, he was defeated by his own inner demons."
Xue Mingyuan had compassion for the world. For the sake of peace in the world, he didn't hesitate to wound himself repeatedly with his heart sword, separating the demonic nature from his body to suppress Xue Chenjing's power. But in the end, he still failed.
Ming Zhaojun paused for a long while, sighing with disappointment, "He softened his heart."
Yu Yi stood outside the warning stone monument, never having crossed it to the other side of the cliff since the beginning.
She gently raised her eyelashes, her gaze rippling like gentle waves. She took one last look at the slanted pine tree and the crisscrossing claw marks beneath it, imagining Xue Mingyuan leaning against the pine tree, waiting alone for the sun to rise.
At that time, he might have already anticipated that one day in the future, he might no longer be able to wait for the sunrise.
Yu Yi withdrew her gaze, closed her eyes tightly, then opened them again. She solemnly bowed to Ming Zhaojun.
The cliff, the pine trees, and the rock carved with words all faded and disappeared before her eyes. The red-crowned crane flew away from Ming Zhaojun's side, spreading its wings and flying towards Yu Yi.
Its feathers began to burn again, the flames quickly licking away the crane's form until only a fiery red feather remained.
The feather fell onto Yu Yi's brow, burning her consciousness into a blur.
In the instrument tower of the Pure Flame Pavilion, Yu Yi suddenly opened her eyes. Her dark pupils reflected the fiery red feather floating above her brow. The feather burned into a ball of intense fire before her eyes, and from the heart of the flame emerged a bird's shadow. The shadow grew larger and larger, breaking through the flames and flying out with spread wings.
It had the form of a red-crowned crane, but its wing and tail feathers were a deep crimson. Flowing flames adorned its tail, making it appear like a phoenix reborn from fire. It flew into the suspended sword within the instrument furnace.
"Vermilion Crane?" On either side of the white mark on Yu Yi's brow, two more sword marks resembling wings appeared. Connected in spirit with the sword soul, she sat cross-legged, formed a seal with her hands, circulated her spiritual energy throughout her body, and steadied her mind before standing up to open the furnace and retrieve the sword. She called out, "Sword, come!"
The suspended sword in the instrument furnace immediately transformed into a stream of light and shot into her hand. Yu Yi raised her hand, firmly grasping the sword, and performed a beautiful series of sword flourishes with a backhand move.
She narrowed her eyes, looking up at the barrier overhead, and swung the sword with an upward stroke. The blade cut through the air with a whistling sound. Yu Yi could feel the vibration of the sword qi tearing through space in her sword-wielding hand. This sword strike seemed to carry the cry of a crane.
Although the once flamboyant azure flames and lightning were no longer visible, one could see a line of white that seemed about to burst into flames at the moment the air was sliced open.
When the sword qi collided with the barrier, its hidden sharpness finally exploded completely. Lightning and fire spread across the entire barrier in an instant, shattering it to pieces.
Yu Yi removed the seal on her pouch and tapped on Crane Senior Brother, letting it out to meet the newly upgraded sword spirit. Crane Senior Brother had been sleeping so deeply that it tumbled out in a daze, flapping its wings as it stumbled forward, nearly falling flat at the feet of the sword spirit.
The Vermilion Crane took a step back, lowering its long, slender neck and casting a proud glance at Crane Senior Brother.
Crane Senior Brother immediately straightened its wobbling legs and quickly preened its feathers, trying to sidle up to the sword spirit. The Vermilion Crane gave it a sidelong glance before transforming into a ball of sword fire and disappearing into the Green Bamboo Sword.
Crane Senior Brother didn't even get to touch a single feather. It drooped its head, wailing dejectedly.
Yu Yi put away the Green Bamboo Sword and walked over to console it, patting its wings. "There, there. It's alright. Next time, I'll give you a good makeover before I summon the sword spirit out again for you two to meet."
The red-crowned crane suddenly raised its head, letting out a confused cry.
Yu Yi put her hands on her hips proudly and lifted her chin, saying, "Of course, I'm now spiritually connected with the Vermilion Crane. I can summon it anytime from now on."
Crane Senior Brother spread its wings, excitedly jumping up and pouncing into Yu Yi's arms.
After playing with Crane Senior Brother for a while, Yu Yi sealed the instrument furnace and left the tower. As soon as she stepped out of the tower's main entrance, she saw a plump little black worm suddenly dangling down from above.
Yu Yi's pupils constricted, and she reflexively took a step back. A sword flame shot from her fingertip, incinerating the black worm.
"What was that? How could there be worms in the instrument tower?" Yu Yi's gaze swept around the tower's entrance as she quickly ran out. However, as soon as her foot touched the ground, several black shadows flashed by her feet, and four or five more black fleshy worms emerged from the earth.
And that wasn't all. The nearby flower bushes also rustled, and as the branches and leaves moved, countless black worms that had been clinging to the undersides of leaves and petals were revealed. More black worms were crawling out of the cracks in the walls outside the instrument tower.
What was even more skin-crawling was that now all these worms were rapidly surging towards her. In the blink of an eye, Yu Yi was almost surrounded by the swarm of black worms covering the ground.
Black insects continued to fall from the trees in midair.
One bug might not have scared her so much, but with these creatures everywhere in the sky and on the ground, it was truly terrifying. Yu Yi's whole body was covered in goosebumps, and her scalp tingled with fear.
These black, wriggling maggots were more spine-chilling to her than any ghosts or monsters.
She screamed and clung to the crane's back, her fingertips shooting random sparks of sword fire as she cried out, "Crane Senior Brother! Crane Senior Brother!"
The crane carried her on its back, flapping its wings to fend off the swarming black insects. Its long beak pecked at the ground with lightning speed, snatching up one bug after another and swallowing them whole.
These black insects, clearly lying in ambush here, were obviously not ordinary creatures. Yu Yi worried about her Crane Senior Brother getting a stomachache and tried to stop him, "Don't just swallow everything! What if they're poisonous?"
Crane Senior Brother smacked his beak, savoring only the delicious taste of the insects, completely ignoring Yu Yi's warnings as he quickly swept through a whole patch of black bugs.
After digging out and swallowing the last little black bug hiding underground, Crane Senior Brother let out a satisfied belch.
Yu Yi: "..." Well, Crane Senior Brother seemed to be fine after all.
She gratefully hugged the crane's neck, praising him, "Crane Senior Brother, you look so cool when you eat bugs. You're definitely the most handsome crane in the world."
The crane raised its head and let out a cry. Of course it knew it was the most handsome crane in the world - how else could it be worthy of such a noble and beautiful sword spirit?
The commotion outside the instrument tower also attracted people from the Pure Flame Pavilion. Yu Yi took the opportunity to settle the spirit stones for renting the instrument furnace.
Yu Yi had been practicing the sword of the heart in the inheritance sword realm, where her consciousness was not bound by external time. She thought two years had passed in the sword realm, but in the outside world, it had only been a month.
She led the crane out, looking left and right outside the Pure Flame Pavilion, surprised that Xue Chenjing wasn't there. She had expected him to cling to her again as soon as she came out.
However, it was just as well that he wasn't there.
Yu Yi stroked Crane Senior Brother's feathers, glanced at the sky, and considered taking this opportunity to leave Yinzhou City directly. After all, she had accomplished everything she came to Yinzhou for. From now on, she could travel and train with Crane Senior Brother.
Thinking this, she took a step towards the outskirts of Yinzhou City, reaching for her storage pouch to take out a map.
Just then, a voice called out from behind, "Excuse me, miss, are you the disciple of Qingxuan Daoist Priest?"
Hearing her master's title, Yu Yi immediately turned to look.
Three cultivators approached her, dressed in white robes and jade crowns, wearing the uniform of a celestial sect.
The one in front said, "I am Zhang Zai, a cultivator from the Vermilion Bird Department of the Immortal Alliance." As he spoke, he took out a jade token about the size of a palm from his waist. The token was carved with the mythical beast Zhouyu in openwork, with the words "Immortal Alliance" engraved on its forehead, and the bearer's name on the back.
This token bore the seal of the Immortal Alliance, which ordinary people could neither forge nor dare to forge.
Yu Yi raised her eyebrows and looked them over, wondering what business the Immortal Alliance had with her.
Zhang Zai's expression was cool but not discourteous. After putting away the Immortal Alliance token, he first cupped his hands in salute to her, then explained, "Miss, your master Qingxuan Daoist Priest once held a position in the Immortal Alliance as the Hall Master of the First Hall of Azure in the Vermilion Bird Department."
Yu Yi was surprised but didn't show it, lowering her gaze to see Crane Senior Brother nod slightly under her arm. It seemed that this person was telling the truth - Qingxuan Daoist Priest was indeed an Immortal Alliance cultivator. She had always thought her master was just a rogue cultivator.
After this brief explanation, Zhang Zai waved his hand, and lines of golden text appeared in the air.
Yu Yi carefully scanned the contents of the contract and nodded, asking, "So, what brings Zhang Daoist here?"
Zhang Zai said, "Qingxuan Daoist Priest once signed this contract with the Immortal Alliance, agreeing to handle nine matters for the Alliance. There is still one task that remains unfinished. Since you have inherited Qingxuan Daoist Priest's mantle, it is only right that you complete this unfinished business on behalf of your master."
To think that her master had left her with such a debt.
