Ling Luo never told Yue Liangze that she had never cared about other people’s views and opinions; all along, it was those she cared about that mattered.

Her master before she knew the truth, her senior brothers, her fellow disciples at Tianji, the human realm she had once saved—

Later, she felt that she cared about too many things, which was why she ended up this way. So she abandoned everything at once.

Ling Luo rested on his lap and enjoyed a good sleep that had eluded her for a long time. Her dreams were no longer filled with regrets and hatred, only quietness and warmth embracing her.

When she awoke, she saw the little spirit demons carrying timber back and forth across the open space. The man had his sleeves rolled up, his long hair tied high, with a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. He handed drawings to the spirit tools beside him, then turned to arrange flower branches on the already-completed flower racks.

Ling Luo rubbed her eyes, sat up under the eaves, and watched with her knees drawn up. Beside her, the two swords were chatting casually.

Suiwu said: “You cried like a human back then.”

Wusheng: “…Duan Yi, don’t stop me! I’m going to slaughter it first!”

Duan Yi: “I’m not stopping you.”

Wusheng: “Why aren’t you stopping me!”

Ling Luo got up and walked toward Yue Liangze, asking him: “You brought the flowers back?”

Yue Liangze made a sound of agreement, glanced at her, and arranged the potted flowers: “We’ll set up the main house in the next few days. When I went to get the flowers, I also got some vegetables. What would you like to eat?”

Ling Luo bent down to smell the flowers: “Whatever you make.”

Yue Liangze responded with a simple “Alright.”

For the past few days, he had been engrossed in building houses on Mount Tianzhao. Whenever he lacked ingredients or tools, he would go to his adopted son’s place outside the mountain to fetch them.

Mu Sujing felt he had become busy these days.

On one hand, he had to deal with inquiries from Yue Liangze’s adopted son and Ling Luo’s temperamental senior brother; on the other hand, he had to satisfy both of them by finding various tools, and he was also being watched by Ling Luo as he practiced incantations, since Danshui True Lord was too obsessed with building houses to accompany her.

Mu Sujing’s time was fully scheduled. Even when he sat down to enjoy a moment of peaceful silence with his silk mouse, he would be interrupted by a small white fox descending from above, giving him a furry paw slap and asking: “It’s been nearly half a year and you still can’t memorize the twenty-four symbolic incantations of the Celestial Stems and Earthly Branches. What are you playing at!”

The silk mouse decisively abandoned its master, scurrying back to the house to hide behind the elder, trembling.

Mu Sujing thought: Isn’t the cultivation world hunting her down? Why haven’t they come yet? Come quickly! After all, he didn’t believe anyone could defeat Ling Luo.

However, when people came, he was the first to tell Ling Luo, fearing she might be injured or killed in a siege by the immortal sects.

Yet the arrivals from the immortal sects could only wander at the edge of the outer mountain, unable to enter deeper. Demons who had heard the news from somewhere also came, mocking the cultivation world for producing two Twenty-Sixth Demons in succession.

The two sides fought fiercely because of this.

Ling Luo received a message bird, read it, and casually crushed it.

Yue Liangze passed by and asked her: “Is something wrong?”

“Nothing,” Ling Luo smiled with narrowed eyes. “I’ll go take a look. You just focus on building the house.”

Yue Liangze acknowledged.

After walking a few steps, Ling Luo turned back and called to him: “Have you been too obsessed lately?”

“No,” Yue Liangze replied without turning his head. “I’ll play with you in the evening. Besides, the person who said they would go out to play with me at the demon’s nest left quite decisively at the time.”

Ling Luo: “…”

She snorted, not daring to say more.

Yue Liangze caught a glimpse of her departing figure from the corner of his eye, a smile flashing across his face.

There were many visitors outside Mount Tianzhao. Among the twelve great immortal sects, people from East Island’s Tianji and South Mountain’s Snow River were the most numerous, followed by those from the Unfettered Sect and Three Mountains.

The new lord of North Court’s Moon Palace declined the invitation from other immortal sects to join the demon-elimination expedition to Mount Tianzhao, stating they wanted to focus on rebuilding the Moon Palace.

The master of West Sea’s Taichu was still concerned about the Zhen Xianyu and claimed to have dispatched many people to suppress other demons, while expressing regret and anger over Master Feng’s death, and strongly condemning Ling Luo for embracing demonic ways.

In addition, many people had witnessed Yue Liangze’s sword strike at Tianji, which split open the Ten Thousand Zhang Cliff to protect Ling Luo. The immortal sects had demanded an explanation from the Sacred Sword Sect.

Bai Cang laughed at this: “My master is considering it and will address it in a few days. If anyone disagrees, they can personally go and capture my rebellious junior brother. The Sacred Sword Sect would be most grateful.”

This siege of Mount Tianzhao to eliminate demons was led by East Island Tianji Sect’s Master Mu Hengtian.

Ling Luo wasn’t surprised at all. Upon arrival, she saw many familiar faces but didn’t see her two senior brothers, fellow disciples, or the young lord of South Mountain’s Snow River.

To prevent Mu Sujing’s small house from being affected, Ling Luo deliberately chose a distant location to battle these cultivators.

Possessing the Deep Abyss Spirit Vein of the human realm, she could sense all spiritual power in heaven and earth. When she desired it, she merely had to beckon with her hand to possess profound spiritual power that others couldn’t obtain in a lifetime, inexhaustible in its supply.

Therefore, even ten Mu Hengtians couldn’t withstand her divine sword technique.

In the battle at Mount Tianzhao, spiritual energy erupted violently. The woman guarding the mountain executed beautiful sword forms, unleashing fierce winds and torrential rain, bringing forth thunderous lightning, mountain collapses, and earth splits. No one could withstand this domineering and powerful force.

This battle left Mu Hengtian severely injured, forcing him to retreat.

The power Ling Luo displayed was so immense that it made people both fearful and envious.

Now the cultivation world had to worry not only about the two newly emerged Twenty-Sixth Demons but also about the renewed demon invasion causing havoc in the human realm. After they retreated, Ling Luo raised her hand to set up a barrier, but remembering her half-trained disciple in incantations, she gave up the idea. After the battle, she went to educate Mu Sujing:

“Learn quickly. If you don’t learn, don’t go out, lest I want to set up a barrier but worry you won’t know how to navigate the mountain and get trapped to death.”

Mu Sujing silently released the silk mouse in his hand and opened the spirit bird to struggle with the incantations inside.

Ling Luo leisurely returned to the deep mountain. Yue Liangze had prepared dinner and was waiting for her, with only spirit tools and little spirit demons continuing to build the house nearby.

Yue Liangze looked Ling Luo up and down, and only after confirming she wasn’t injured did he say: “Xu Shen said Feng Tianyao also came this time but left halfway.”

“Why?” Ling Luo pulled out a chair to sit down, picking up chopsticks to eat. “Was he afraid?”

After speaking, she snorted coldly and said with disdain: “With his half-baked divine sword technique, coming here to kill me would only embarrass him in front of others.”

“He used to…” Yue Liangze started but then stopped, looking at Ling Luo quietly eating her meal and swallowing the rest of his words.

Ling Luo heard the silence and looked up curiously: “Why did you stop?”

Yue Liangze shook his head and sat down to eat with her.

He recalled how Feng Tianyao used to follow Ling Luo, mentioning her in every third sentence. Everyone could see his admiration for Ling Luo, and the young master indeed changed by following her.

After Ling Luo embraced demonic ways, once Feng Tianyao had recovered, he confronted her in a great commotion.

By then, he had mastered all the divine sword techniques, yet was still completely suppressed by Ling Luo, with no hope of ever defeating her in this lifetime.

Feng Tianyao was knocked to the ground by Ling Luo, covered in wounds. From his initial loud questioning to his later despair, crying, and laughing, he said: “You’ve won. Go ahead, kill me!”

Ling Luo looked at him indifferently for a long time, sneered, and withdrew her sword: “You really should be more like your father.”

Like him—hypocritical, selfish, mean, and also cowardly, weak, and cruel.

However, Feng Tianyao was completely different from Feng Yunhong.

His father envied his extraordinarily talented sister, living in her shadow and becoming twisted, hating, and resenting while committing unconscionable acts.

But Feng Tianyao did not envy; though he felt some dissatisfaction, he was upright and honorable. He didn’t resent his sister but rather liked her, and enjoyed pursuing her power.

Ling Luo didn’t kill Feng Tianyao. Being alive would make him suffer, reliving cruel experiences day and night while he could still breathe, with despair and pain ceaselessly tormenting him.

Let him live or die on his own.

Feng Tianyao watched Ling Luo’s departing figure as she withdrew her sword, covered his eyes, and sobbed apologies.

After dinner, Ling Luo was making a fence by the pool when Yue Liangze came out after cleaning the kitchen and said: “The courtyard and master bedroom are finished. The rest can be left to the spirit tools. I need to return to the sect tomorrow.”

With a snap, Ling Luo broke the bamboo strip in her hand and turned to look at him with narrowed eyes.

Yue Liangze walked over and stroked her head. “My master has already given me enough time. If I delay further, my second senior brother and the others will come here to take me back personally.”

Ling Luo hummed lowly: “Your senior brothers can’t defeat me either.”

Yue Liangze looked down at her: “Want to compare sword skills?”

Ling Luo raised her head to look back at him and saw him say with a hint of amusement: “Back at Tianji, you looked so impressive guiding my sword skills with a begonia branch.”

Ling Luo: “…”

“Let’s compare then!” Ling Luo bristled. “Don’t think I’ll go easy on you just because I like you. Even now I can hold you off for four, five, six, seven moves with a begonia branch!”

Yue Liangze gripped his sword hilt with one hand: “Come on.”

Ling Luo: “Where would we find begonias now? Wait until spring next year.”

Yue Liangze: “Plum blossom branches would work too.”

Ling Luo snorted: “No! I want begonia branches!”

The amusement in Yue Liangze’s eyes became more evident as he pulled the crouching Ling Luo into his arms and held her tightly.

“It won’t be too long,” he said softly. “As long as you don’t leave me behind again, I will always return to your side.”

Ling Luo remained silent in his embrace.

She knew Yue Liangze had to go back.

Yue Liangze didn’t mind being at odds with the cultivation world for her, but he didn’t want to implicate his sect.

“This time, don’t go out to play with those demons. Many things weren’t done by you, but others pushed the blame onto you. The second senior brother is investigating this matter, but later, because of the heavy casualties caused by demons harming the human realm, people’s resentment becomes difficult to resolve. With others fanning the flames, they insisted on coming to Mount Tianzhao to kill you.” Yue Liangze gently stroked her smooth hair, looking down at Ling Luo. “They may not know that the black fire of the Four Forbidden Beasts can burn the entire world. They only think about eliminating demons, but if the Four Forbidden Beasts lose control, everyone will die.”

Ling Luo said in a muffled voice: “That person is even crazier than me. I only want the Heavenly Dao to die; he wants everyone in heaven and earth to die.”

Yue Liangze said: “Perhaps not everyone, but the cultivators.”

“I won’t leave you behind,” Ling Luo looked up from his embrace. “I will find this person. In this lifetime, he will never summon the Four Forbidden Beasts again.”

Wusheng howled: “Let him go! This lifetime, I absolutely won’t lose again!”

Suiwu: “You can’t win against it anyway. If Danshui True Lord dies again, what will happen to my Ling Luo!”

Duan Yi: “Ignore it, ignore it! It won’t happen, it won’t happen!”

The two simultaneously blocked out their sword spirits.

Yue Liangze left at dawn. It was raining heavily when he returned to the Sacred Sword Sect. After talking with his master, he knelt again at the sect gate, but his mood was no longer as heavy and complex as in years past—rather, it was calm.

Ling Luo supervised the spirit tools he had left behind on Mount Tianzhao, watching the little spirit demons carrying timber back and forth to the spirit tools. Snow fell at night, and the spirit tools swept snow while building houses, looking quite pitiful.

She watched from under the eaves for a while and said softly: “Wait a little longer, your master will return to help soon.”

Mu Sujing had finally learned all the incantations of the Celestial Stems and proudly entered the deep mountain with his Fire Phoenix, waiting for Ling Luo to praise him. But he saw her standing alone in the courtyard with a gloomy expression, eating wild fruits and watching the spirit tools. When she spotted him, she immediately asked about the Earthly Branch’s incantations.

Mu Sujing, unable to answer: “…”

He put away his Fire Phoenix and left.

Ling Luo waited for Yue Liangze on Mount Tianzhao for six days.

She knew Yue Liangze would return, but on the seventh day, she told herself that if she didn’t see him, she would go directly to the Sacred Sword Sect to take him back.

Snow fell abundantly, and even during daylight, the sky was gloomy.

Ling Luo leaned against the courtyard railing, forming hand seals to practice incantations. Spirit birds flying from her fingertips lit up the dim sky, illuminating the path for the man walking along the mountain road.

The returning Sacred Sword Sect disciple was just like in years past, covered in wounds, carrying his sword, and strolling toward her.

Ling Luo blinked, and as he approached, she suddenly smiled: “Danshui True Lord, you’re severely injured, yet you dare come to my territory?”

Amusement flashed in Yue Liangze’s eyes as he reached out to hold her neck and lowered his head to kiss her: “I’ve come to help you practice your beauty tip.”

The spirit tools were still hammering and building outside, while their masters had already gone inside to avoid the wind and snow.