Yongxue City, located on the frontier of the Western Continent, stood atop a cluster of mountains in a bitterly cold land. Here, snow fell in all four seasons, and spring never came.
A small figure, about four or five years old, stood beneath a snow-laden pine tree. The child wielded a sword longer than his height, swinging it with great effort. Each stroke unleashed a sharp sword energy, carving countless furrows in the snowy ground before him, exposing the solid earth beneath.
The human body is most fragile. Only by opening the Yin and Yang apertures can one’s physique reach its peak, and only by opening the Divine aperture can one truly embark on the path of cultivation. Among countless mortals who live mundane lives, those who can cultivate are less than one in a million. Yet some are destined to stand at the pinnacle from birth.
After the ten-thousandth stroke of sword energy, the boy lowered his sword, his breath turning to white mist in the cold air. His face was small, with cheeks still chubby with baby fat. Though his features were childish, his phoenix eyes already showed their distinctive shape.
Yongxue City was renowned throughout the world for its swordsmanship. People said that the world’s sword cultivators came from Yongxue, but only the residents of Yongxue City knew that in this desolate and bitter cold place, they had nothing but their swordsmanship.
“You can only tightly grasp the one sword you possess,” Xie Daocheng would say.
Four-year-old Xie Xuechen was intelligent enough. Born with ten apertures, he learned everything easily, often without needing instruction. But for swordsmanship, his father said, one could only comprehend and establish one’s own heart through personal enlightenment.
All sword cultivators gained insight into their Dao heart and sword heart through daily sword practice. The Dao heart was the foundation and purpose of cultivation, while the sword heart was the comprehension of the sword way. Some had a sword way like water, seemingly gentle but with surging undercurrents; others had a sword way like a rainbow, swift as lightning and furious as thunder.
“Xie Xuechen, what is your sword way?”
After swinging his sword ten thousand times each day, the child would stand in the snow, pondering this question. Gazing at the vast snowy mountains and the boundless horizon, the four-year-old contemplated one of the most difficult questions in the world.
“Meow…” A faint cat’s cry came from afar, interrupting the child’s thoughts.
His phoenix eyes blinked, looking towards the direction of the sound.
On a high branch, a snow-white figure moved slightly and let out another soft cry: “Meow…”
“A snow cat?” Xie Xuechen slowly walked to the tree, looking up curiously at the small cat on the treetop.
Snow cats were unique spirit beasts of Yongxue City. They had long, fluffy fur and lived in the icy, snowy environment, using the color of ice and snow to conceal themselves. This snow cat looked very young, with lake-blue eyes timidly looking down. It stretched out its paw, then quickly retracted it.
Xie Xuechen noticed that the ground beneath the tree, originally covered with thick, soft snow, had been cleared by his sword energy, exposing hard rocks with sword marks of varying depths. The snowcat must have playfully jumped onto the tree, and after waking from a nap, found itself too high up with no soft snow below to cushion its fall. It was afraid to jump down for fear of injury.
Xie Xuechen hesitated for a moment, then put down his sword. With a light step, he used his energy to fly up to a branch near the snowcat.
Some snow was shaken off, making a rustling sound.
Startled, the snowcat clung to the thick branch with all four limbs, letting out a fierce but frightened roar towards Xie Xuechen.
“Meow! Meow!”
“I’m here to carry you down,” Xie Xuechen said softly.
Perhaps it was the child’s gentle features, the kind smile in his clear phoenix eyes, or his chubby little hands reaching out, without a trace of the sharpness from his sword practice. The cat hesitated for a moment, then leaped from the branch into his arms.
Xie Xuechen caught the snow cat and flew down from the branch.
He gently stroked the cat’s fluffy, soft fur. The cat lifted its head, tilted it to look at him, meowed a few times, and licked his fingertips with its small tongue.
Xie Xuechen couldn’t help but smile, his clear phoenix eyes sparkling. He pinched the cat’s pink paw pads and asked in his childish voice, “You’re a snowcat, and I’m Xuechen. Do you think we were meant to meet?”
As if agreeing, the cat meowed once.
“Is your home nearby?”
Just as Xie Xuechen finished asking, the snowcat wriggled out of his arms, jumped to the ground, ran a few steps forward, and then turned back to look at him, as if waiting for him to follow.
Xie Xuechen understood the snow cat’s intention and immediately followed.
The cat and the boy ran through the mountains, soon arriving at the entrance of a cave.
The snow cat squeezed into the narrow cave, while Xie Xuechen, unable to enter, waited outside. Moments later, the white figure emerged, carrying a silver fish in its mouth, which it placed in front of Xie Xuechen.
Xie Xuechen was surprised and asked, “Is this for me?”
“Meow…”
All things have spirits, especially spirit beasts.
Xie Xuechen joyfully and solemnly accepted the silverfish. It wasn’t a living creature, but rather a product of concentrated spiritual energy in areas rich with Qi. This item was extremely precious and rare, being the snow cats’ favorite food.
The young snowcat could only express its fondness and gratitude in this simple way, giving its most treasured possession to a friend.
Xie Xuechen thought to himself, that this was the first gift he had ever received in his life!
Although his father had given him sword manuals and precious swords, this silverfish held a different meaning for him. It was a gift from his friend!
Xie Xuechen played with the snowcat for a while, but noticing the sky darkening, he suddenly remembered he had left his sword at Wenxue Cliff and hurried back.
A tall figure stood beneath the tree, holding the sword Xie Xuechen had left behind. Xie Xuechen slowed his steps, walked behind the man, and called out softly, “Father.”
Xie Daocheng turned to look at his most valued youngest son.
Xie Daocheng, the Lord of Yongxue City, had only average talent. He had entered the Fashen realm at the age of two hundred, and Xie Xuechen was the child born to him and his wife after he became a Fashen Lord.
He had over a dozen children in his lifetime, but in his eyes, there was only one. Born with ten apertures, a rarity throughout history, this child was extraordinary from birth, the hope of Yongxue City, and the morning star that would break through the long night of the sword way.
Yet now, he had abandoned his sword here! A sword is a sword cultivator’s life!
Xie Daocheng suppressed the anger in his heart and asked coldly, “Where did you go?”
Xie Xuechen couldn’t lie, even though he knew telling the truth would result in punishment from his father.
“I… I saved a snowcat, and it gave me a silverfish,” he said carefully, taking out the silverfish from his bosom and holding it in his palm.
“You saved a snowcat, but why did you leave Wenxue Cliff to follow it?” Xie Daocheng asked.
Xie Xuechen didn’t know how to answer. He had simply followed when the cat’s blue eyes looked at him.
Seeing Xie Xuechen’s silence, Xie Daocheng didn’t press further, as he had already guessed the answer.
He turned to leave, leaving only one sentence: “A sword cultivator must never, under any circumstances, abandon their sword!”
Xie Xuechen wasn’t punished by his father, which was unexpected, but he didn’t think much of it, only feeling relieved.
The next day, at the same time, he came to the same place to begin his daily sword practice.
The snowcat came again, swaying its fluffy tail and meowing at Xie Xuechen.
“Kitty, I need to practice my sword. I’ll play with you after I finish,” Xie Xuechen said.
The cat was very understanding. It could comprehend human speech and obediently sat nearby, watching Xie Xuechen practice his swordsmanship. Snow began to fall again, and it happily jumped around, pouncing on the dancing snowflakes.
Xie Xuechen noticed that the snow cat’s movements were as swift as lightning, somewhat similar to sword intent. Unconsciously, he began to imitate the cat’s movements as he swung his sword, adding a touch of agility to the fierce sword energy.
“Ten thousand strokes!”
Xie Xuechen let out a long breath, having completed today’s practice. He then ran towards the snowcat with a smile.
“Kitty, I think my sword energy changed a bit today…” He confided in the cat as if talking to a friend.
The snow cat’s ears twitched, appearing to listen intently.
Xie Xuechen thought he could become friends with the snowcat, but in the days that followed, it never came again. He felt disappointed and even went to the snow cat’s cave to call for it, but received no response, not knowing where the cat had gone.
A month later, when he went to Wenxue Cliff to practice as usual, an unexpected incident occurred.
He was attacked by an adult snowcat.
The adult snow cat’s attacks were extremely fierce. It was missing a piece of its left ear, and its eyes blazed with intense hatred. Xie Xuechen struggled to fend off the cat’s relentless attacks. The snowcat surprised that a four-year-old child could possess such swordsmanship, became even more enraged. It spat out its spirit core, risking destruction to attack Xie Xuechen.
At that moment, an incredibly powerful sword strike came out of nowhere, shattering the spirit core and severely wounding the snowcat.
The snowcat coughed up a large mouthful of blood, glaring at the newcomer with resentment. Having lost its spirit core, it could hardly continue fighting and collapsed into a pool of blood, convulsing.
Xie Daocheng didn’t spare a glance at the snowcat. After confirming that Xie Xuechen had only suffered superficial wounds, he nodded slightly and said, “Your swordsmanship has improved, becoming much more agile.”
However, Xie Xuechen was concerned about something else. He looked at the lifeless snowcat, dazed for a moment, before asking in a weak voice, “Father, why… why did it try to kill me?”
Xie Daocheng replied, “Hmm? Probably because I killed its child.”
Xie Xuechen’s pupils constricted, his heart suddenly tightening. He stammered, “Miao Miao…”
“But this mother cat was quick, only injuring one ear. Knowing it couldn’t defeat me, it came to seek revenge on you,” Xie Daocheng said casually.
Suddenly, he noticed Xie Xuechen’s unusual behavior.
The young child’s eyes had reddened, tears welling up but not falling.
“Why… why?” he asked.
Xie Daocheng’s face turned cold, his voice deepening, “What kind of expression is that?”
Startled, Xie Xuechen’s tears rolled down his cheeks. His father’s imposing presence made him tremble, but he suppressed his fear of kneeling and raised his small face to look at Xie Daocheng: “Father, although the snowcat is a spirit beast, it doesn’t harm people. Why… why did you kill it?”
It was his new friend, and his father knew that.
No… it was precisely because he knew…
Xie Xuechen suddenly found it difficult to breathe, as if someone had violently gripped his heart.
“Xuechen, have you forgotten my words?” Xie Daocheng said coldly, “Cultivators cannot have emotions; they must devote themselves to the Dao.”
“No, I don’t understand…” Tears wet his thick eyelashes, blurring his vision. “Mother said cultivators should consider all living beings as their concern and take saving the world as their duty. Why can’t they have emotions?”
Xie Daocheng seemed to suddenly remember that this child was only four years old. No matter how intelligent he was, he had not yet experienced the dangers and hardships of the world.
“Saving the world and considering all living beings, is this your dao heart?” Xie Daocheng sighed imperceptibly. “If so, you must sever all emotions and love. If you have favorites, how can you embrace all beings with great love? If one day you face a choice between your most beloved and all living beings in the world, can you abandon your love to save the world?”
Xie Xuechen’s young face showed confusion and bewilderment; he still didn’t understand.
“Why… can we only choose one?”
Xie Daocheng crouched down to meet his eyes and said solemnly, “Xuechen, you were born extraordinary and will eventually stand at the pinnacle of the human realm, even the Three Realms. On that day, the fate of all living beings will depend on your single thought. Emotions and love will only become your weakness and plunge all living beings into danger. You must remember today’s lesson, remember your father’s words.”
Xie Xuechen nodded, seemingly half-understanding. After a long while, he asked, “What if I were just an ordinary person?”
Because he was extraordinary, he shouldn’t have emotions.
So, could ordinary people have emotions?
Xie Daocheng hadn’t expected him to say this. His eyes suddenly turned to ice.
“Then you should die.”
The four-year-old Xie Xuechen learned from his father what it meant to be without emotion.
He had eighteen children, but also only one child. If he wasn’t Xie Xuechen, he would be nothing.
Xie Xuechen’s dao heart was set on considering all living beings.
So his sword heart was to advance fearlessly, disregarding his own life.
He didn’t favor any single person or thing in the world, including himself.
The Lust Demon muttered in confusion, stroking its chin, “How strange, why is Xie Xuechen’s cage of desires different from others?”
Mu Xuanling looked at the young child in the snow and said slowly, “Because he has long been without desire or greed.”
What greed could a person who doesn’t even care for his own life have?
In swordsmanship, he had already reached the pinnacle. Fame and fortune, he viewed as clouds. Love…
It had been strangled in that snowy field when he was four years old.
“Without desire or greed?” The Lust Demon was stunned, thinking it impossible, but the fact was right before its eyes.
The cage of desires could dig out the strongest desires from the depths of one’s heart. Within the cage, all desires could be fulfilled, making people indulge in it and willingly become prisoners. If there were no desires, this would no longer be a cage, and that person could come and go as they pleased.
The Lust Demon felt things were not going well. Just as it was about to discuss with Mu Xuanling how to deal with Xie Xuechen, it suddenly felt a pain in its body. Purple vines had climbed up its body at some unknown time, tightly binding it, only now suddenly becoming visible.
The Lust Demon recognized this as Mu Xuanling’s Judgment Demon Vine and immediately turned pale.
As the Holy Maiden of the Demon Race, Mu Xuanling was in charge of punishments in the Demon Realm. All demons who violated the laws would be strangled by this vine and turned into demon pills for the demon nobles to consume. The cultivation methods of the Demon Race were based on absorption; they could absorb and refine demon energy, or directly absorb the energy from other demons’ bodies, the latter being even easier and more convenient. The reason why the Demon Race was so afraid of Mu Xuanling was that too many demons had died under the Judgment Demon Vine. This magical weapon, personally refined by the High Priestess, was specifically designed to counter demons. Perhaps only the Demon Lord could escape it.
However, this was the Lust Demon’s domain. It should have had a chance to guard against it, preventing Mu Xuanling from having an opportunity to act.
“Holy Maiden, what are you doing?” the Lust Demon asked in fear.
“This is why demons are said to have no brains,” Mu Xuanling laughed. “Do you need to ask such an obvious question?”
“You want to kill me?” The Lust Demon shook its head in panic. “We could just put on a show for Xie Xuechen, there’s no need to kill me! Besides, if you kill me, my true body will sense it!”
“What does that matter?” Mu Xuanling tightened the demon vine, causing the Lust Demon to scream in agony as waves of black energy poured out from its body. “Anyway, your true body won’t know whether it was me who killed you or Xie Xuechen.”
The Lust Demon suddenly realized it had been tricked! Mu Xuanling had been talking to it for so long just to make it let down its guard!
“You’ve indeed betrayed the Demon Race! All those words you said earlier were lies to deceive me!”
The Lust Demon’s body kept shrinking, soon becoming a black pill.
The pill flew into Mu Xuanling’s hand, and the illusion immediately shattered.
— You’re so stupid, who else would I deceive if not you?
Mu Xuanling pouted.
The room was the same as before, seemingly unchanged, even the candles hadn’t burned down at all.
Xie Xuechen stood quietly nearby, looking at the demon pill in Mu Xuanling’s hand.
“The one who attacked just now was one of the Three Demon Gods, the Lust Demon,” Xie Xuechen stated with certainty.
It was as if he had experienced a lucid dream, numbly going through everything like an observer. It was precisely because of this that he guessed the identity of the attacker.
In the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation, he had encountered the Lust Demon. That creature was too weak and was severely injured by his single sword strike, while the War Demon could withstand several of his sword strikes.
“The Lust Demon was badly injured and is in seclusion. This was just its projection, but it still had one-third of its true body’s strength. Now that I’ve killed it, its true body will be even more severely injured. The Lust Demon can only sense the death of its projection but doesn’t know what happened here,” Mu Xuanling said. She then opened her hand, offering the demon pill to Xie Xuechen. “This is the demon pill formed from the Lust Demon.”
Xie Xuechen looked at Mu Xuanling, his lips moving slightly, seeming a bit hesitant, but he finally spoke: “Consuming the demon pill should alleviate the pain caused by your overflowing demon energy.”
Mu Xuanling blinked her eyes curiously and asked, “Aren’t you angry?”
Xie Xuechen didn’t know if he should be angry. Demons devouring each other seemed cruel and evil to humans, but if she didn’t eat it, she would have to endure the pain of overflowing demon energy.
Xie Xuechen didn’t answer, and Mu Xuanling didn’t press him. She put the demon pill into her spatial ring and smiled, “I won’t eat this. It smells bad and is fishy.”
“With the Lust Demon dead, the Demon Realm will immediately know our whereabouts. We can’t stay here any longer; we’ll have to travel through the night again.”
Mu Xuanling tugged at Xie Xuechen’s sleeve. They jumped out of the window and mounted their horses, leaving in the night.
Mu Xuanling and Xie Xuechen rode on one horse, with her curled up in his embrace, using a hood to cover her head and hide her pale face.
“I’ve thought of a way to get back to Yongxue City as quickly as possible,” Xie Xuechen suddenly said.
“What method? Even I, being so clever, couldn’t think of one,” Mu Xuanling muttered.
Xie Xuechen was often stumped by her words, not knowing how to continue. After a pause, he said, “The Yunxiu Manor has a teleportation formation.”
Mu Xuanling suddenly recalled that handsome and elegant figure and the folding fan he had used to shield her head.
Right, Nan Xuyue was the world’s most skilled formation master. Formations were divided into four types: defensive, trapping, offensive, and special. The teleportation formation belonged to the special category. It was said that because Nan Xuyue couldn’t cultivate, for self-protection and to guard the manor, he had researched many formations. Not just teleportation formations, but also healing formations, artifact refining formations, sound transmission formations…
However, teleportation formations consumed a lot of energy and weren’t easily opened except in special circumstances.
Given Xie Xuechen’s status and position, Nan Xuyue probably wouldn’t refuse.
Thinking of that young master’s gentle smile, Mu Xuanling felt that no matter who made the request, he probably wouldn’t refuse. It was just that few people dared to ask.
As the horse galloped, the night wind whistled past their faces. Xie Xuechen noticed that Mu Xuanling had been silent for a long time and thought she had fallen asleep. Suddenly, he heard her ask, “Xie Xuechen, do you like cats?”
Xie Xuechen immediately understood that she had also seen his experience in the cage of desires.
He didn’t feel embarrassed or ashamed. Just as when he revisited that scene, his emotions remained undisturbed.
Xie Xuechen felt that he no longer liked cats.
But then someone held his hand and softly meowed, “Miao…”
Xie Xuechen’s throat tightened, and he unconsciously gripped the reins tighter.
He seemed to hear the sound of snow falling from tree branches again, gently brushing against his heart.
Then a weak voice came from Mu Xuanling’s embrace.
“I don’t like cats,” the scent-tracking mouse A Bao said glumly.
Xie Xuechen: “…”
Mu Xuanling: Who cares about you?