Er Sheng, having nestled enough in Ji Ling’s embrace and happening to hear Shen Zui’s playful remarks about Chang Yuan, rubbed her eyes and said, “A teacher for a day is a father for life. There’s nothing wrong with Chang Yuan calling you father-in-law.”
Seeing his little disciple defending Chang Yuan so firmly, Shen Zui felt somewhat uncomfortable. He narrowed his eyes to study Chang Yuan, secretly probing his power levels, but the more he probed, the deeper his frown became. He had always known that Er Sheng’s proclaimed “husband” was no ordinary person—that much was evident from the sword he had given her—but Shen Zui had never imagined that this husband would be so unfathomably powerful.
Chang Yuan naturally sensed Shen Zui’s wariness and stood quietly to the side, allowing Shen Zui to probe at will. After a while of investigating with no results, Shen Zui shook his head and sighed, “Indeed, a grown daughter can’t be kept close forever. Little Ears, you’ve barely been gone, and already your loyalties have shifted?”
Er Sheng turned her head away and explained, “Chang Yuan is my husband, so I’m still loyal to my own.”
Her smooth forehead, bathed in the streaming sunlight, faintly revealed a black flame-like mark. Ji Ling caught a glimpse of it and thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. Just as she was about to examine it more closely, three sharp knocks echoed at the door.
All four people in the courtyard turned to look, seeing a man in silver armor with a righteous bearing standing at the gate. Both Ji Ling and Shen Zui were momentarily stunned upon seeing him. Er Sheng, who had never seen this person during her three years at Wu Fang, was curiously studying him when she heard Shen Zui say: “Xian Yan.”
At these words, Er Sheng also froze. ‘Xian Yan’ was an Immortal sword belonging to the Sect Master, enshrined in Wu Fang’s Yan Gui Hall since the sect’s founding. After hundreds of years of spiritual energy infusion, it developed consciousness and became another symbol of Wu Fang. However, no one had seen the sword spirit Xian Yan’s form in the past century.
Xian Yan gave Shen Zui a slight nod and said, “The Sect Master commanded me to arrest the criminal Er Sheng.”
These words left everyone stunned.
Shen Zui turned to Er Sheng: “Little Ears? Did you cause some great trouble while you were away?”
Er Sheng touched her forehead and nodded with a small voice of acknowledgment. She offered no further explanation, simply walking toward Xian Yan: “I’ll go with you to see the Sect Master, but Chang Yuan must come with me.”
Xian Yan’s gaze lingered on the Lin Yi sword at Er Sheng’s waist for a moment. Sword spirits always shared a mysterious connection, and after glancing at Chang Yuan, he gave his tacit approval.
Seeing that he wasn’t as stubborn as Ji Wu, Er Sheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief. At that moment, Chang Yuan stepped forward and grasped her cool fingers: “Don’t be afraid,” he said firmly as if prepared to fight the Sect Master himself. “I won’t let anyone bully you.”
In Yan Gui Hall.
Shen Zui and Ji Ling, still worried, followed them inside. They had intended to speak up for Er Sheng, but upon entering, they saw the Sect Master standing with his back turned, gazing at the Spirit Light True Diagram on the wall. Without looking at those who had entered, he coldly commanded: “Kneel.” His tone, part rebuke and part order, left unclear whom he was addressing.
Er Sheng dropped to her knees with a swift “thud,” unlike her usual pretense of acting pitiful when she had done something wrong. This time, her expression was so serious it made everyone feel she had truly come to accept punishment. Chang Yuan didn’t help her up, standing quietly behind her. While he couldn’t bear to see anyone treat Er Sheng poorly, nor could he bear to see Er Sheng treat herself poorly, after everything that had happened, if Er Sheng could still treat herself as she used to, she wouldn’t be Er Sheng anymore.
In his view, how Er Sheng would atone and what she would do next had to be her own decision.
Shen Zui and Ji Ling exchanged a glance before respectfully kneeling and greeting: “Sect Master.”
The hall remained silent for a while before the Sect Master, still facing the Spirit Light True Diagram, asked: “Er Sheng, having fallen to demonic cultivation, why did you return to Wu Fang?”
At these words, Ji Ling looked incredulously at the Sect Master, taking a long moment before daring to turn her gaze to Er Sheng, whose silence made her heart sink. Shen Zui also lowered his gaze upon hearing this, silently watching his little disciple kneeling before them.
“If I were to expel you, would you harbor resentment?”
Chang Yuan lowered his eyes, feeling how rigidly Er Sheng held her spine. He understood better than anyone what Wu Fang meant to Er Sheng—this wasn’t just her sect, it was her home. What lonely child doesn’t yearn for a safe harbor that would shelter all their willingness and mistakes?
But now this harbor was unwilling to let her dock anymore.
“I harbor no resentment,” she bent her back, prostrating herself in the most humble posture and voice, “but… could you keep me, not drive Er Sheng away…”
The Sect Master seemed to have lost himself in the True Diagram, not answering Er Sheng’s question for so long that Ji Ling finally lost patience. She opened her mouth to speak, but Shen Zui gently shook his head, silently mouthing—
The Sect Master is kind-hearted and most protective of his own.
Just then, the Sect Master suddenly spoke coldly: “Extreme yin becomes yang, extreme yang becomes yin. Since the fallen immortal Chang An could achieve immortality three times and fall to demonic cultivation three times, it shows that both immortal and demon paths arise from the heart. One thought leads to demon cultivation, one thought leads to immortality—there is no fundamental difference. If one can find the method of transformation between them, the demon mark should be removable.” He paused, finally turning around, “Demon cultivation requires eighty-one days of tempering. If you can find a way to break the demon mark within two months, you can eliminate the heart demon. If you don’t become a demon, I should not expel you.”
Chang Yuan’s expression brightened as he asked, “How can the demon mark be removed?”
The Sect Master finally looked at him and said, “One who has fallen to demon cultivation and returned to immortality would naturally understand the method.”
In this world, only one person had returned to immortality after falling to demon cultivation, but that person had entered the Infinite Desolate City and hadn’t been heard from since. Er Sheng didn’t have time to wait for him.
As Chang Yuan lowered his eyes to contemplate ways to re-enter the Desolate City, the Sect Master added, “Chang An was a disciple of the Liu Bo Immortal Sect. Perhaps searching through the Liu Bo texts in the Archive Hall might yield some clues.”
Er Sheng stared at the Sect Master in a daze: “Sect Master… you’re not driving me away?”
The Sect Master swept his sleeve, his figure instantly vanishing from Yan Gui Hall, leaving only his voice echoing in everyone’s ears: “Two months later, if you haven’t removed the demon mark, I will definitely expel you and personally execute you under Xian Yan.”
Er Sheng’s eyes reddened as she held back her sobs and bowed: “Thank you for your help, Sect Master.” Rather than threatening Er Sheng, the Sect Master’s words seemed more like helping her find a path to escape the demonic energy.
Chang Yuan stepped forward to help Er Sheng up, wiping away the tears and mucus that had made a mess of her face: “We’ll go to the Archive Hall today to search for Chang An’s background. We won’t let that demon creature cause any more trouble.”
Er Sheng could only nod, having no other words.
Ji Ling frowned: “When has the Archive Hall ever contained texts from the ancient Liu Bo Immortal Sect? If there were any, why have I never seen them?”
“They certainly exist,” Shen Zui said, “So much time has passed that few remember Wu Fang’s immortal techniques were inherited from Liu Bo’s cultivation methods. Few know that the Sect Master initially studied under Liu Bo.”
Ji Ling’s expression flashed with surprise, and after a moment she said: “So it seems Master can occasionally put on an air of profound mystery.”
Shen Zui sighed deeply: “What sins did I commit to end up with two such disciples…” He looked at Chang Yuan and Er Sheng embracing, then gazed at the blue sky outside Yan Gui Hall, reflecting, “I suppose those old matters stored on the highest floor of the Archive Hall must have gathered quite a thick layer of dust by now.”
At the peak of Wu Fang’s main mountain.
The Sect Master stood with his hands behind his back, taking in the thousand-mile view at a glance. His expression was cold, showing no emotion.
“Chang Wu,” Xian Yan floated in the air and said gravely, “She has fallen to demon cultivation. You should kill her while she hasn’t yet developed a demon body. You shouldn’t let her off so easily. Removing a demon mark isn’t that simple. Once demonic energy appears, it’s difficult to eliminate—otherwise, why would Chang An achieve immortality three times only to fall to the demon path three times?”
“In two months, if she cannot remove the demon mark, I will act,” the Sect Master gazed into the distance in silence for a long while before saying, “I absolutely will not allow another Chang An to appear in this world.”
Xian Yan knew his mind was made up and said no more, silently withdrawing.