Ying Qianqian had admired Ye Luqing for a very long time.
The year she joined the Sect, her talent was on par with Tao Xiaoxian, who entered at the same time, and she was originally supposed to go to Heavenly Sword Peak as well.
But after watching the doubles match at the Sect-wide Tournament, she resolutely decided to transfer to Biluofeng.
Everyone only saw Xiao Qingxuan, who dominated the front lines, but very few noticed Ye Luqing, who quietly contributed from behind.
It was precisely Senior Sister Xiao Qingxuan’s overwhelming strength that overshadowed Senior Sister Ye’s brilliance.
Every Array was executed to perfection, every strand of true qi utilized to its utmost—truly the pinnacle of Array Arts.
In that year’s final, the two of them, at the Golden Core Realm, defeated opponents at the Nascent Soul Realm.
In Ying Qianqian’s eyes, Ye Luqing’s contribution was even greater than Xiao Qingxuan’s.
Ying Qianqian also wanted to become someone like Ye Luqing—a presence who could support others from behind.
At the same time, she hoped that the contributions of those working behind the scenes would be seen.
She hoped Senior Sister Ye could be seen.
And not remembered merely as “Xiao Qingxuan’s supporting role.”
She buried her face in the bedsheet Ye Luqing had just changed, gently inhaling the faintly damp scent upon it.
“It’s Senior Sister Ye’s scent…”
A sickly flush crept across Ying Qianqian’s face.
Previously, the Senior Sister Ye she yearned for was always at Heavenly Sword Peak, and she had no chance to get close.
Now, Senior Sister Ye had lost her memory, Senior Sister Bai He had advanced to the Transformation God Realm and couldn’t participate in the tournament.
Senior Sister Ye’s original partner, Xiao Qingxuan, had also surpassed the realm limit, so this year’s Sect-wide Tournament was her best opportunity.
Today’s battle between Senior Sister Ye and Ruyi Pei proved that Senior Sister Ye still possessed strength not inferior to the Nascent Soul Realm.
Of course, she herself would not drag down Biluofeng, but would support Ye Luqing just as Ye Luqing once supported Xiao Qingxuan.
After a moment, she carefully folded Ye Luqing’s still-damp bedsheet, sealed it with a Preservation Formation, then placed it into her own Storage Magical Artifact.
Then she took out a clean bedsheet she had prepared beforehand and skipped back to Ye Luqing’s Xiao Courtyard.
***
On the other side.
Xiao Qingxuan had, as she wished, entered the Illusory God Sect.
“Senior Sister Xiao, this way please.”
Huang Ran looked at Xiao Qingxuan with excitement.
The chief disciple of Xuanxiao Supreme Sect was extremely powerful, even stronger than disciples of the Immortal Sects of the same generation.
“Senior Sister Xiao, do you remember my Illusory Sword? Back then I practiced it for so long, even received personal guidance from the Sect Master, but you broke it in three strikes—it was amazing.”
“Senior Sister Xiao, what brings you to the Illusory God Sect this time? After you’re done, can we spar again? Of course, I know I’m no match for you at Half-Step Transformation God Realm, I just want to see if my Illusory Sword has improved, hehe…”
Xiao Qingxuan listened quietly to Huang Ran’s chatter.
Normally, she would have grown impatient and silenced her with a single sword strike.
But today, for some reason, she thought of Ye Luqing.
That little one who was so quiet at first, but once familiar, would talk endlessly, as if her desire to confide was inexhaustible.
Thinking of this, a smile unconsciously rose to Xiao Qingxuan’s lips.
“Ah, Senior Sister Xiao, you smiled! Does that mean you’ve agreed to spar with me later?”
Huang Ran’s eyes lit up, and she grinned.
To receive guidance from Xiao Qingxuan, whose swordsmanship was peerless, was a dream come true for the sword cultivators of their generation.
“Lead the way.”
“Okay!”
A quarter of an hour later, the two arrived at a bright, spacious palace.
A faint, exotic fragrance filled the air, intoxicating to the senses.
This was the residence of the Huanshen Sect Master—Huanshen Hall.
Disciples below the Golden Core Realm found it difficult to control their Nascent Soul.
Simply approaching this place, they would likely fall asleep instantly, sinking into an illusion from which they could not escape.
Even cultivators at the Nascent Soul Realm would find their spirit unstable if they stayed here too long, as if their Nascent Soul might leave their body at any moment.
“Senior Sister Xiao, you may go in. Master is waiting for you inside,” Huang Ran reminded her.
Xiao Qingxuan walked toward the grand hall before her.
The moment she touched the doors, a chilling surge of killing intent suddenly rose behind her.
A Sword Qi filled with endless transformations shot at Xiao Qingxuan’s back, its speed seemingly surpassing the Nascent Soul Realm.
The Sword Qi passed through Xiao Qingxuan’s body, but her expression remained unchanged, completely uninjured.
The next moment, as if sensing something, Xiao Qingxuan stepped back half a pace.
Without warning, her left sleeve was sliced apart by something.
Illusory God Sect, Illusory Sword.
“Crooked ways…”
Xiao Qingxuan raised her hand and struck.
She had entered Heavenly Sword Peak from a young age, learning only orthodox swordsmanship with a direct sword heart.
In her eyes, the Illusory Sword of the Illusory God Sect was nothing more than a combination of their illusory techniques—capable of twisting reality and illusion—with the deadly power of swordsmanship.
Using illusions for concealment, striking at the unsuspecting for lethal effect.
At lower realms, this move was indeed effective. Illusory techniques alone were hard enough to deal with, not to mention suddenly launching deadly sword moves—ordinary cultivators simply couldn’t handle it.
But Xiao Qingxuan’s realm was far from low, and she was no ordinary cultivator.
As she struck down the illusory Sword Qi with a single slash, the surrounding scene changed once more.
A drop of rain fell on Xiao Qingxuan’s head. She instinctively looked up at the pitch-dark sky.
Ever since breaking through to Half-Step Transformation God Realm, Sword Qi had naturally formed a barrier around her.
Let alone “rain”—even a full-powered strike from a Golden Core cultivator couldn’t touch her in the slightest.
Yet in the next moment, Xiao Qingxuan realized her cultivation was dropping, regressing straight back to the Nascent Soul Realm.
Just as she was pondering how to break the illusion, she suddenly noticed the warmth in her arms fading away.
Looking down, she saw Ye Luqing’s corpse in her embrace.
Those once bright amber eyes had grown empty and lifeless, her blue hair dull, her whole body limp.
A dense crowd of Magic Cultivators closed in around her, their wicked laughter echoing in Xiao Qingxuan’s ears, as if she could still hear faint sobs.
“Huang! Ran!”
Xiao Qingxuan’s eyes instantly turned blood-red, showing the depth of her fury.
An overwhelming Sword Qi erupted from her, her aura surging back up to Half-Step Transformation God Realm.
A torrent of furious Sword Qi swept toward the surrounding Magic Cultivators, instantly shredding them to pieces.
At this moment, Xiao Qingxuan seemed to have lost all reason.
If it were any other time, she could have easily discerned that the Techniques these “Magic Cultivators” used were not demonic, but Orthodox Arts.
But her eyes were already red with killing intent, and she failed to notice anything amiss.
She had already fallen into a meticulously crafted illusion.
She clung tightly to the girl in her arms, refusing to let go even as she was gravely wounded by the surrounding Magic Cultivators.
Moments later, only ruined walls, piles of Magic Cultivator corpses, and a blood-soaked, exhausted Xiao Qingxuan remained.
“Ah Qing…”
Xiao Qingxuan propped herself up with her sword in her right hand, cradling Ye Luqing’s corpse in her left, her heart torn with agony.
Just like that time, she killed all the Magic Cultivators.
And just like that time, she failed to save Ye Luqing.
Staggering to her feet, Xiao Qingxuan retracted her Life-Bound Spirit Sword into her mind.
Her bloodstained white robes fluttered in the wind.
At this moment, she looked as if she could collapse at any second—any Golden Core, or even Foundation Establishment cultivator, could slay this genius Sword Immortal on the spot.
But Xiao Qingxuan had already killed all the Magic Cultivators around her; there were no more living presences.
Yet in the next instant, Ye Luqing, whom she held in her arms, suddenly opened her eyes.
Those amber pupils burst forth with golden light.
The frail girl’s lips curled into a triumphant smile as she drove the blade in her hand deep into Xiao Qingxuan’s heart.