Qinghua Xianzi did not know how high Gu Caiyu’s cultivation level was at that time.

“After leaving the secret realm, I parted ways with him and returned to Gufeng Mountain,” Qinghua Xianzi said.

Disciples of the sect often went down the mountain to train and gain experience—it wasn’t anything significant. Qinghua Xianzi frequently stayed away from the sect for years to test her sword skills, and Shaoyang Zhenren wouldn’t say anything about it. After obtaining the inheritance in the secret realm, she returned to Taiyan Sect and went into closed-door cultivation for a while. Not long after emerging, she received Gu Caiyu’s paper crane distress call, saying he had been imprisoned by the demon race and was unable to escape.

At that time, there had not yet been a great war between the human and demon races—the two races coexisted peacefully. After considering for a long time, Qinghua Xianzi ultimately went to the Demon Realm once and rescued Gu Caiyu. It was only then that Qinghua Xianzi discovered Gu Caiyu’s cultivation had already reached the Great Vehicle stage.

“Your cultivation is superior—why did you deceive me?” Qinghua Xianzi had been furious beyond measure when she discovered she’d been tricked.

Gu Caiyu smiled apologetically: “I wasn’t interested in the inheritance left by that great master anyway. Since you liked it so much, I gave it all to you. Besides,” he touched his nose, “you never asked about my cultivation level either.”

Qinghua Xianzi turned and walked away. Gu Caiyu chased after her from behind: “Xianzi, you’re magnanimous and generous—please don’t hold this against someone like me.”

At that time, Qinghua Xianzi was proud and arrogant, thinking Gu Caiyu was deliberately making fun of her. She didn’t want to associate with this person anymore, but wherever she went, Gu Caiyu followed. He never seemed to get angry, as if nothing in the world was worth mentioning in his presence. Whenever they encountered danger, he never fled from battle, always putting in effort with care and dedication. Over time, he wore down all of Qinghua Xianzi’s temper.

“Later…” Qinghua Xianzi said softly, “The Jiexin Bell rang.”

The cold, aloof female cultivator from the sect and the lively, cheerful nameless wandering cultivator traveled together while testing their swords. They had encountered perilous situations fraught with danger, and they had also witnessed strange and magnificent scenery together. She hadn’t given much thought to why someone who had always been solitary could allow Gu Caiyu to stay by her side—there was something wrong with this situation, but the Jiexin Bell told her the answer first.

A stirring heart cannot be hidden.

She had fallen in love with Gu Caiyu.

Qinghua Xianzi, in the chaos, fell silent.

Zanxing looked at her. The woman’s expression was melancholy, but those cold eyes were like ice springs melting in spring, flowing with nothing but affection.

That must have been a period both sweet and troubling, so much so that this Xianzi, who seemed untouched by worldly concerns, was now filled with moving charm at this moment.

“Not long after that, Demon Lord Gui Diao Tang wreaked havoc in the mortal world, bringing disaster to all living beings,” Qinghua Xianzi said, her voice gradually growing cold.

When lovers are together, time always passes exceptionally quickly. It happened that Gu Caiyu had reached a bottleneck in his cultivation and needed to enter closed-door training. While Gu Caiyu was in seclusion, Qinghua Xianzi returned to Gufeng Mountain, planning to tell her relatives and friends about her beloved’s name. Who knew that calamity had already quietly arrived in the mortal world?

Gui Diao Tang led the demon race everywhere, harming innocent people. The demonic evil was brutal and cruel. The cultivation world’s sects joined forces to resist the demon race, and Qinghua Xianzi and Shaoyang Zhenren led Gufeng Mountain’s disciples into battle.

But the Demon Lord’s power turned out to be even more formidable than they had imagined. The cultivation world’s sects were no match, and everyone harbored thoughts of sacrificing themselves for righteousness. If cultivators died fighting to protect all living beings, it could be considered fulfilling their dao heart.

Qinghua Xianzi also prepared for the worst.

When Gu Caiyu emerged from seclusion, the world had already changed completely. Qinghua Xianzi told him the whole story from beginning to end, then said to him, “Let’s get married.”

Gu Caiyu was astonished.

“You are my only lover in this life, and there will be no others in the future. All my life, I have devoted myself to cultivation, single-mindedly pursuing ascension, never thinking of anything else, but you are an exception. Now, with the great war imminent, I still have one unfulfilled wish. If I could become husband and wife with you, even if I die in this life, I would have no regrets.”

The Xianzi, who never spoke a soft word to anyone, now looked at her beloved with determined eyes. If this were to spread, the hearts of all the talented young men in the cultivation world would probably be crushed.

And what about Gu Caiyu?

The man who never seemed serious gently kissed her eyes and said, “Alright.”

“We…” came the woman’s voice from the chaos, as if separated by distant time, “became married just like that.”

There was nothing.

No wedding dress, no bridal chamber, no relatives and friends to witness the ceremony; no betrothal gifts, no bridal veil, no paired wedding candles burning together in harmony.

There were only two people in love.

They became husband and wife on the eve of the Great War, and no one knew. The next day at dawn, the human and demon races clashed again.

The cultivation world’s sects joined forces to deal with Gui Diao Tang. At that time, Qinghua Xianzi had the highest cultivation among all the cultivators. She cornered the Demon Lord at the Ruins of the Golden Gate, where she pierced the Demon Lord’s heart with her sword.

The surroundings fell silent. Qinghua Xianzi didn’t speak for a long time.

Zanxing glanced at Gu Baiying. The young man had his back to her, and she couldn’t tell what expression was on his face. After thinking for a moment, she asked softly: “Did the Demon Lord die?”

After a very long time, Qinghua Xianzi spoke again: “No.” Her voice was light as a feather. “He kept a thread of his life soul and burrowed into Gu Caiyu’s body.”

Zanxing was shocked.

Among the three souls, the heaven and earth souls often wander outside, but only the life soul dwells alone in the body. A person would die without their life soul, but similarly, if a thread of life soul remains, the person would have a chance at survival and could make a complete comeback.

“Gui Diao Tang merged his life soul with Gu Caiyu’s life soul into one,” Qinghua Xianzi said. “From then on, they would live and die together.”

Being the king of the Demon Realm was not an empty title. The Demon Lord was cunning and decisive—in his desperate straits, he forcibly found himself a way to survive.

Gu Caiyu was Qinghua Xianzi’s beloved. To eliminate Gui Diao Tang, Gu Caiyu would have to be utterly destroyed along with Gui Diao Tang. If she chose to give up… one day, the Demon Lord would still reappear in the mortal world. This time, chasing the Demon Lord to the Ruins of the Golden Gate was the result of the entire cultivation world’s joint effort. So many disciples had lost their lives because of this—how could they fall short of success at this crucial moment?

At the very center of the Ruins of the Golden Gate, there were only the two of them. The people of the cultivation world couldn’t get close. Even if she spared Gu Caiyu, no one would know.

All her life, Qinghua Xianzi prided herself on being worthy of heaven and earth, never having done anything against her conscience. For cultivators, punishing evil and promoting good, eliminating demons and protecting the dao had always been natural and right. She had never doubted that her dao heart was unsteady, but at that moment, when her sword pointed at Gu Caiyu, Qinghua Xianzi’s hand was trembling.

She hesitated and even took a step backward.

The Demon Lord was skilled at reading human hearts. Between emotion and righteousness, it’s difficult to have both. If she chose all living beings, she would inevitably lose the person she loved most in this life. If she concealed it for selfish reasons, she would live in guilt and self-reproach for the rest of her life—how tormenting would that be?

“Did you spare him?” the young man asked softly.

Qinghua Xianzi closed her eyes: “I killed him with my own hands.”