Two days later, the final results of the sword dao competition were announced.

Gujian Sect took two first places and one fourth place. When the Sword Tomb opened, they would have a total of twenty-four disciples who could enter. Of course, entering the Sword Tomb didn’t guarantee obtaining a good sword, since the Sword Tomb was a graveyard of swords containing many broken and ominous blades. One had to be careful inside. Every time people entered, disciples would be injured by the flying swords within, and some would even have their sword dao interrupted.

After the competition ended, Su Zhuyi and the others returned to Gujian Sect’s Luoxue Peak.

She and Qinghe went together to pay respects to their master. Then, Su Zhuyi very tactfully left, leaving Qinghe to consult their master about sword dao problems. As she exited the room, thinking of Qinghe’s sunny, handsome face just now, she mused that her senior brother must be tired of wearing a mask in front of their master.

She needed no disguise in front of Qin Jianglan.

She was a snake and scorpion-hearted demoness, yet he had still been poisoned by her.

After returning, Su Zhuyi crafted two more Straw Man substitutes. Still without any grass heart, they were all mid-grade straw men. She sighed and casually tossed the straw men into her storage treasure.

She couldn’t keep suppressing her cultivation to avoid heavenly tribulation forever. Even though Hua Yining dared to stand proudly with sword in hand to face the lightning tribulation. How could she, a demonic powerhouse who had reached the late Nascent Soul stage in her previous life, hesitate because of the Golden Core stage heavenly tribulation?

Being afraid of death wasn’t shameful. Su Zhuyi had always felt that protecting herself and cherishing life was perfectly normal. She had originally wanted to craft mid-grade straw men with high-grade substitute capabilities for use during tribulation, ensuring no accidents occurred. But after years of failure, her fighting spirit had been considerably worn down.

For a demon head to grow and live long, one needed not only ruthless cruelty but also extensive learning and observation, plus constant deep reflection on oneself. She had lived peacefully and without worldly concerns on Luoxue Peak for ten years. Though her style remained unchanged upon returning to battle, she once again realized that evil people were everywhere and one couldn’t relax for a moment. Similarly, being a secretly vicious villain in a prestigious righteous sect seemed more satisfying than being openly evil in a demonic sect. She would need to be even more sinister in the future.

After obtaining the Songfeng Sword from the Sword Tomb this time, she would attempt to break through to the Golden Core tribulation. Thinking of tribulation, Su Zhuyi thought of Little Skull again. How had this fellow been gone so long? Had he found living with relatives more comfortable and forgotten to return, not even wanting his inseparable dog anymore?

She wondered if that dog was dead. An ordinary low-grade spirit dog running wild on Luoxue Peak, which had many high-grade spirit beasts, could easily lose its life if careless. She stood up, planning to go check, then thought again that it’s life or death had nothing to do with her, and gave up. She sat cross-legged and began cultivating the Tiangang Five Thunder Formula.

This incomplete cultivation technique was particularly difficult to practice. The mental cultivation formulas were obscure and hard to understand, and very awkward to recite. She hadn’t even fully learned the first level yet—it was the most difficult technique she had ever encountered. Since she had decided to attempt the Golden Core breakthrough after emerging from the Sword Tomb, she needed to work hard recently and strive to master the first level.

Daily closed-door cultivation made three months pass in the blink of an eye. Soon, it was time for the Sword Tomb to open.

“Go by yourself. I have urgent matters to attend to.” Qinghe looked at Su Zhuyi and tossed her a transmission jade slip. “Master’s injuries have been recurring recently, and she must rest quietly. If there are enemies you can’t handle, call me.”

How euphemistic.

Master’s recurring injuries were definitely due to the Longquan Sword’s malevolent qi rising again. So, Senior Brother, your urgent matter is going to soak in a cesspit? Su Zhuyi thought for a moment and decided that after returning from the competition and breaking through to the Golden Core stage, she would go to Cang Peak to find some materials to see if she could create a Mirage Scenery illusion. Then she could make him think he was embracing their master while soaking in hot springs—that seemed quite nice? It was just that the array formation would be very difficult to set up. Even Golden Core cultivation might not be sufficient to complete it. She could only try without guaranteeing success.

The Sword Mountain, where the Sword Tomb was located, was very remote. Even taking a spirit boat from the Gujian Sect would take three days. Every time the Sword Tomb opened, Sect Master Duan Linshu would accompany the group. This time, three elders were also traveling together, showing how much importance they placed on this.

Su Zhuyi boarded the spirit boat. Since neither her master nor senior brother had come, Sect Master Duan Linshu called her over to sit together in the boat’s cabin and poured spiritual tea for her.

“You’ve met Elder Hu Yu and Elder Qiu Xia. This is Yi Lian, Peak Master of Ling Peak. He spent twenty years crouching in a forest to catch a Bifang bird and only returned recently.”

Su Zhuyi had some impression of the other Gujian Sect elders. In her previous life, she had even fought several of them. But she had never encountered Yi Lian from Ling Peak. Seeing him now, she felt this Ling Peak Master had a baby face with lively eyes and long eyelashes, looking like a sixteen or seventeen-year-old young man.

“Don’t be fooled by that face,” Elder Hu stroked his beard and laughed heartily. “This fellow is already fifteen hundred years old—older than me.”

“If Zhuyi likes any kind of spirit beast and wants to raise one as a helper, you can visit Ling Peak,” the sect master continued. “The spirit beasts on Ling Peak were all caught by him. Though we sword cultivators shouldn’t overly depend on external things, having a helper is better than having none. If you’re ever injured and need to meditate outside, having someone to keep watch would help.”

Generally speaking, cultivators could only contract one spirit beast at a time, except for those from the Beast Taming Sect. This was because spirit beasts recognizing masters required establishing soul connections with their owners. Contracting several spirit beasts simultaneously would overwhelm a cultivator’s dantian and sea of consciousness. Su Zhuyi already had Little Skull. Though Little Skull’s recognition was the simplest kind without any constraints, before Little Skull left, Su Zhuyi couldn’t form soul contracts with other spirit beasts. Of course, spirit beasts like treasure-hunting mice were exceptions—those didn’t require soul contracts. As long as you fed them well, treasure-hunting mice wouldn’t run away.

“Mm, thank you, Sect Master.” Su Zhuyi smiled in agreement, then looked at the Ling Peak Master with an even sweeter smile. “If I want to raise spirit beasts in the future, can I go to your place to choose?”

This Ling Peak Master seemed quite good—he looked young and tender-faced yet was powerful. If she could enchant him, she could gain considerable benefits.

“Since the Sect Master already promised you, how could I refuse?” Yi Lian smiled in agreement. When he smiled, sweet dimples appeared on his cheeks, making him look even younger.

Then he summoned several spirit beasts, all young ones, which circled Su Zhuyi a few times. Unexpectedly, after this circling, Yi Lian showed a puzzled expression: “You already have a spirit beast?”

“Oh, you can tell?” Su Zhuyi was stunned, then said: “Last time I contracted a small, unknown beast by chance, but it was the most ordinary contract—it could leave anytime. I can’t restrain it, and it’s been missing for half a year. I thought it was gone.”

“No reaction in your dantian or sea of consciousness?” Yi Lian was somewhat curious.

“None. I can’t even sense its existence. Even from the initial contract, it was hard to detect.” Hearing this, Yi Lian’s eyes lit up with interest. Su Zhuyi immediately understood that Yi Lian would be very difficult to win over because what he loved most was probably spirit beasts! The beauty smiling at him left him calm with no waves in his eyes, but mentioning spirit beasts made his eyes seem to glow!

“Then your spirit beast must be extremely high-grade. It still left a faint aura on you, so these few of mine can sense it.” Yi Lian was very excited. “I wonder what your spirit beast looks like. Could you draw it for me? These few are high-grade spirit beasts, and they both revere and can’t help but be drawn to the aura around you. Yours is probably an immortal beast.”

Su Zhuyi: “…”

Under Yi Lian’s burning gaze, she was forced into desperation and finally roughly sketched a few strokes: a round head, plus a round body, then drew four round hands and feet, and on the round face drew three circles representing eyes and nose. She handed this to Yi Lian.

The sect master leaned over to look and burst out laughing.

The other two elders couldn’t help laughing either, while Yi Lian’s hands shook as he held the drawing: “This, this this…”

This artistic skill was truly horrible beyond words.

Su Zhuyi chuckled: “Others paint skin and bones; I paint the soul.”

Yi Lian could only say helplessly, “If it appears again next time, remember to call me so I can admire it.”

“Alright.” Su Zhuyi nodded in agreement, though she didn’t know when Little Skull would return.

Or had it started living with uncles and decided never to come back?

…

Spirit Realm.

Little Skull sat cross-legged on the ground, staring eye-to-eye with Qin Jianglan, who sat cross-legged opposite him.

“Little Uncle, I miss Little Sister.”

“Mm, I miss her too.”

This conversation repeated every day.

“Do you remember what to tell Little Sister?” Qin Jianglan asked again.

Little Skull’s eye sockets showed two clusters of green flames like phosphorus fires floating on graves. The flames in his eye sockets spun a few times: “Little Uncle, you’ve said this hundreds of times. How could I forget?”

Then he began reciting like memorizing a text, shaking his head: “Little Uncle is called Qin Jianglan. Qin Jianglan is in the Spirit Realm. The Flowing Light Mirror’s temporal reversal is not tolerated by the Heavenly Dao. Little Sister cannot kill people at will, especially those who will leave their names in history, otherwise she might be rejected by the Heavenly Dao.”

Qin Jianglan had once placed a Heart-Pursuing Curse on Su Zhuyi.

The curse’s purpose was to leave Songfeng Sword Intent to protect her, with the condition that she couldn’t kill Su Qingxun. Not killing Su Qingxun wasn’t just because Su Qingxun was his disciple. The main reason was his worry that Su Zhuyi would immediately harm Su Qingxun upon returning to childhood, thus bringing heavenly punishment.

During the sacrifice, Qin Jianglan’s idea was to return her to childhood. He couldn’t control the specific time, but he hoped it would be before she entered the Blood Luo Sect—even earlier would be fine. Her resentment toward Su Qingxun ran deep. Once she returned, she would target the closest Su Qingxun first. But Su Qingxun wasn’t a nameless person—she was Qin Jianglan’s only disciple, highly talented with substantial cultivation. After her death, many people remembered her because she had prevented the female demon head from restoring the heaven-defying treasure, sacrificing herself to eliminate demons and protect the dao for the world’s sake. Even within the Yunxiao Sect, many people hung her portrait for worship.

So if she plotted to kill young Su Qingxun, the historical changes would be too great and the consequences unthinkable. After she had been back for a while, she would surely understand that Heavenly Dao rules wouldn’t let her randomly alter people’s life trajectories. Though the current Su Zhuyi probably already understood this, Qin Jianglan still had Little Skull deliver the message to remind her to be careful.

“What else?” Qin Jianglan asked again.

Little Skull took the butterfly pendant from around his neck: “The butterfly pendant is what Little Uncle gave me. Half the spirit stones inside are mine, half are Little Sister’s. The pills are Little Sister’s. The hairpin, jade bracelet, jade disc, and the bright red dress are all Little Sister’s…” After finishing, he looked proudly at Qin Jianglan: “See, Little Uncle, I didn’t forget, right?”

Qin Jianglan smiled slightly, the corners of his mouth lifting, his dimples shallow. Like a gentle breeze brushing willow tips, the willow branches hanging over the lake swayed, leaving shallow ripples on the water’s surface. His eyes were clear like two pools of spring water: “What else?”

“Oh, oh, there’s also a jade slip with words Little Uncle wants to tell Little Sister.” He covered his eyes with both hands: “I won’t peek.”

Qin Jianglan reached out and gently touched Little Skull’s head: “Mm.”

“When can I go back?”

“Soon.”

“Then, Little Uncle, remember to bring me over to play in the future. Can you bring Little Sister and Xiaoxiao together?”

“Not for now, but I’ll come visit you all as soon as possible.” Qin Jianglan thought for a moment, then said: “There’s a spirit beast on this mountain whose meat is very fragrant.”

Little Skull immediately said, “I don’t eat meat, only candy.”

“I should also prepare gifts for your Xiaoxiao.” He stood up, murmuring: “I never expected that the Heart-Eating Demoness, The Dog’s Woe, would also keep a dog by her side.”

She had already changed.